Love Postponed on Account of War
by Cmartin-Panda Productions
Summary: Over 400 years had passed since Naruto had become Hokage. The world had advanced greatly during that time span, but the peace Naruto drove so hard to achieve had collapsed. With the Pitter Patter Axis threatening to take over what was once the Shinobi Nations, the descendants of the Konoha 11 struggle to live a normal life while a war rages on. (Takes place during World War 2.)
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note from Panda: Hey everybody, Panda here. For those of you waiting patiently for more instalments of our other stories, here is a brand new Historical Fiction NaruSaku story.**

 **This was original just supposed to be an extra long one shot Valentine's Day special. But me and Cmartin can't help ourselves and it ballooned into this sucker you see before you.**

 **To give you some perspective, this story takes place 500 years after the canon ending of Naruto, and now takes place a year into something remarkably similar to the real world's 2** **nd** **World War. So, turn your brain off for this one. This is an idea that I have been toying with for over a year now. Where Naruto is the hero soldier coming home to Sakura, his love. Now sit back, relax, and enjoy the 10** **th** **story by Cmartin-Panda Productions.**

* * *

It was January, 1941. The 4th World War had been raging for over 1 year. The minor nations had all banded together to oppose the Five Elemental Nations surrounding them. Aided by traitors from each of the Great Nations, the Pitter Patter Axis had drove deep into all of the Elemental Allies' territory.

With Lightning on the verge of collapse, and the Earth, Wind, and Water countries all protected by natural barriers and the wrath of winter, all of the Axis attention is focused on the Country of Fire and their bountiful forests. If the Fire military forces cannot hold the line throughout the war's second winter, all will be lost.

Which brings us to the northern forest of Fire Country, a never-ending field of every kind of tree, stretching from East to West along the northern border of Fire. There, dug in like ticks, was the newly trained and eager 11th Army Division of Fire, Fox Company, sent to hold the lines while the main forces can recuperate over the winter. These jokesters were just a bunch of gung ho kids unknowingly preparing themselves for the greatest wakeup call of their lives.

A hundred yards behind the front-line trenches, a couple of rookie soldiers could be found sitting atop of the "General's precious tanks," As their Division Commander once so elegantly screamed at them. The boys were all told to stay away from the tanks as that would just be asking the enemy to shell that particular tank and wipe out a platoon. So the boys opted to take turns warming their butts on the heavy metal plates the tank engines kept heated at all times. At that moment, it was Kiba, Shikamaru, and Naruto's turn to warm their buns. While his two buddies were smoking, and leaning against the gun barrel of the tank, Naruto was seated near the hatch with a spare ammo box full of snow he had melted into water the previous night. Only now it had frozen again into a block of ice. A block of ice that Naruto was furiously chipping at with his combat knife.

"Son." Naruto grunted as he stabbed the unyielding frozen water.

"Of." he grunted as he stabbed again.

"A." He stabbed the same spot he had been going at for a good five minutes and heard the sloshing of water.

"Bitch." He cried, piercing the frozen top of the container and beheld the fruits of his labor. A secret compartment of unfrozen water.

"Whatever happened to our old ways?" Shikamaru asked no one in general.

"What old ways?" Kiba asked as he flicked away his cigarette butt into the trod upon floor of snow and pulled out a fresh one.

"Guys, look! I got it! I cracked the bastard." Naruto declared as he held out his frozen ammo box.

"When we all got along...when our ancestors were all ninja." Shikamaru said.

"Well that kind of went away after our 7th Hokage retired and passed away." Kiba said.

"Hmmm...wasn't he your ancestor or something, Naruto?" Shikamaru asked.

"Ah who knows. My Dad is always telling me stories about my ancestors and it's all just blah." Naruto said as realized no one was going to sarcastically compliment him for his good work and put his ammo box down. Then he pulled out his shaving kit.

"Well, your dad is the 25th Hokage and it even says in the history books that Lord 7th was named Naruto Uzumaki...sound familiar?" Shikamaru smirked.

"Yeah, yeah, I heard all the comparisons before. Why are we even talking about this?" Naruto asked, annoyed that Shikamaru had to bring up his legacy like that. He always hated being compared to someone he wasn't. He wanted to prove himself to everyone that he was his own man. Which was why as soon as the war broke out, he and all his childhood friends volunteered for the Army.

"I just find it fascinating is all." Shikamaru shrugged.

"Come to think about it...we're all named after our ancestors." Kiba realized.

"Well, except for Sakura. Ever since her ancestor married Sasuke's, the Haruno line faded away and merged into the Uchiha clan." Shikamaru stated.

"What the Hell is the Haruno line?" Naruto asked, only interested in the fact that Shikamaru brought up Sakura.

"She was related to the long since gone Haruno clan. Her ancestor was named Sakura Haruno. They were known for their vibrant pink hair in the women and a dull and dark shade of pink in the men...and...what are you doing?" Shikamaru asked.

"Ignoring you and your boring ass clan history." Naruto said as he dipped his badger tipped brush into the water and rubbed it against his little container of shaving powder. "Also, I'm shaving." Naruto said as he brushed his cheeks.

"Shaving what?" Kiba snickered.

"My beard." Naruto said, indignantly.

"What beard? All I see is-"

"Ouch!" Naruto cried as he nicked himself.

"-peach fuzz...now blood." Shikamaru teased.

"Shut up. We've been out here a week without seeing any action so I figured I'd get comfortable." Naruto said as he wiped the blood away.

That's when Kiba noticed their friend Lee running towards them "Looks like we might." He said as he reached for his M1 Grand.

"Guys, get off the tank. Things about to get busy." Lee warned without breaking his stride as he ran past them to find the Company Commander. "Where is Commander Kakashi?" He asked.

"Jesus, Lee. Where's the fire?" Naruto asked, not taking his buddy seriously.

"Guys, seriously. A runner from Dog company just reported that the enemy is headed our way with Tigers, Shermans, and KV-2's." Lee exclaimed.

Everyone immediately froze. Their tanks had the firepower to knockout several Sherman's. But Tigers were heavily armored and their guns could pierce just about anything. the KV-2's were the worst. They were slow and moderately armored, but their 152mm guns were enough to put a crater in place of a decent sized building, especially if they were using high-explosive shells.

"Fuck." Shikamaru said as he scrambled to put his partially burned cigarette out and back in its box. Naruto frantically tried to scrape the rest of his peach fuzz away. From far away they could already hear the sounds of battle. Guns and cannons echoing off in the distance. Dog Company was already engaging the enemy. For Fox company, their moment was upon them.

"Kiba! Get a hold of the tank corps! Tell them to bring the Chi-he's and Chi-nu's! Also..." He paused before looking at the massive tank they had back at the barracks. "Tell them we might need the O-I." Shikamaru ordered. He was the highest ranking there when Commander Kakashi wasn't around.

"On it!" Kiba rolled off the tank and landed in the snow.

"Naruto, save it for later!" Shikamaru ordered as Naruto still had half his face covered in shaving cream.

"Ah, damn it!" Naruto said as he threw his shaving kit back into his rough sack. He leapt off the tank with his Thompson sub-machine gun in hand. He was going into his first battle with right cheek covered in white cream.

The ground in front of the trenches exploded from artillery fire.

Naruto and Shikamaru ran up to the line while Kiba ran to find a radio and Lee ran off to find the Corporal. Their boots pounding the frozen earth as more shells burst, making the ground rumble. The two privates ran past a handful of trenches where their fellow soldiers were scrambling to get ready. As the came closer to another full trench, a shell found its mark. The hole exploded with 20 pounds of TNT, kicking up brown dirt and chunky black meat.

Naruto stopped dead in his tracks. There were men in that hole. He saw them. And now the hole was empty. It didn't make sense. Did he know those guys?

"Naruto, move your ass!" Shikamaru shouted from their fox hole.

Naruto shook his head and listened to his friend. He ran towards Shikamaru and slid into their fox hole, unknowingly dodging a stray bullet that would have hit him if he had hung around a half second longer. He threw himself against the wall of the trench and aimed his Thompson down range. All he could see were flashes coming from the shadows behind the tree line opposite the open field. This was it.

Kiba meanwhile was a hundred yards behind the line, his hands twisting the dials on the radio.

"Scouts report a line of SU-26's shelling us from several clicks away." Kiba reported from the radio.

"Platoon of M5 Stuart tanks breaching the outer line." Someone on the radio reported.

"Chi-nu platoon mobilizing with the O-I. Inner lines separate and make room." They heard a Commander say.

"Mustang fighters flying in!" Someone reported.

"INCOMING!" Someone shouted as enemy fighters strafed the line. Naruto ducked low, swearing on his life that a thousand bees just flew past him.

* * *

One month later, on the morning of February 7th, all was peaceful in the capital of the Country of Fire. The Village Hidden in the Leaves rested peacefully being over 500 kilometers south of the front. Still, everywhere you could walk in the city you found people talking about the war. News poured in everyday about the battles being fought and the young men dying. Everyone knew someone who had lost a brother, a son, a husband, or a father. And at the city's main hospital, Sakura Uchiha, was at the floodgates of that tragedy.

"Another casualty..." Sakura sighed before covering back up the soldier she was working on. "Hinata...mark time of death to be 13:36."

"Y-yes, doctor." Hinata squeaked as she jotted down the time on her clipboard.

"Stop being so nervous. Seriously, it's hard to believe you're Naruto's cousin as timid as you are." Sakura said.

"Dr. Uchiha...the clans have been dissolved for centuries..." Hinata said meekly.

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Our blood relations are so thin that it doesn't even matter. I mean, yes. We are distantly related, but that was so long ago."

"So then why does everyone refer to you as cousins?"

"Probably because his sister looks so much like a Hyuuga." Hinata said, referring to Naruto's younger sister, Karin.

"Fine, whatever." Sakura sighed.

Just then, their friend Ino burst into the room with a newspaper in her hand.

"Ino!" Hinata jumped in surprise.

"Pig, what did I tell you about bursting in when I have a patient?" Sakura growled.

"Forget the patient, this is more important." Ino said as she showed them the headline.

Sakura's green eyes scanned the paper and she gasped. There, in big bold letters, was the news she and all her friends had dreamed of.

 _ **OUR BOYS BEAT THEM BACK:**_

 _Konoha's 11th Army Division holds the line against the joint Rain and Sound armies. In what the men on the front are calling the Battle of Bloody January, the rookie troops from Dog, Fox, and Easy Company held the overwhelming enemy forces. Outnumbered 10 to 1, our battered boys fought on for 29 straight days without the possibility of resupply of reinforcements. Out gunned and out manned, they fought on until the 9th and 10th Army Divisions could break through to them and relieve them. The heroes of the Leaf are expected to return to the Hidden Leaf village by February 7th, a week before Valentine's Day, for some much-needed R and R at the hands of their various sweethearts._

"Guys, do you know what this means?!" Ino shrieked.

"DUH! Our friends are coming home!" Sakura squealed

"This is fantastic. We haven't had the whole group together in ages." Hinata stated. Referring to the male half of their close knit circle of friends that had all left home for Army Training over a year ago.

"And you get to be with Naruto..." Ino teased Sakura.

"Yeah, and Kiba, and Shikamaru, Lee, all the guys." Sakura replied.

"I mean...some quality time." Ino smirked. Hinata caught on and immediately blushed, but Sakura still didn't understand.

"Well yeah. We haven't been to the dance hall with the guys since they left for training. It'll be nice to catch up with them." Sakura said. "We should grab Tenten and Temari. They'd both love to see Shikamaru and Neji again."

"Wow you're thick, Forehead...but yea, we should." Ino agreed.

"But Sakura, we are in the middle of working." Hinata reminded her.

"And our shift is about done. They won't care if we cut out early."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Ino cheered as she dragged both women away by their collars.

They ran outside into the streets where crowds were already starting to gather. From the talks circulating all around them, the 11th Division had been spotted outside of the city walls.

The girls made two quick stops, one to the city's metal shop where Tenten worked, and then to the Sand ambassador's house to pick up his daughter Temari.

With the girls all together, they pushed their way through the endless crowd of on lookers to get the first look at the return of the conquering heroes.

"Ouch! Watch it, creep!" Ino shouted after one guy accidently stepped on her foot.

"Ah, please move." Hinata begged as she was pushed from all sides.

"Move it!" Sakura shouted, her legendary temper spilling out.

The massive city gates opened and the girls still hadn't made it to the front of the crowd. Somewhere off in the distance, a marching band started to play and the crowd roared in approval. Sakura and Ino continued to push forward while the other girls gave up and decided to just cheer. That too was cut short when the crowd pushed against them to make way for the incoming Division.

The girls tried in vain to peek over the heads of the adults in front of him. They could see men marching down the street, but they couldn't make out if any of them were their childhood friends.

"I said, MOVE!" Sakura shouted as she kicked the man in front of her and sent him sailing flat on his face in front of the troops. The whole crowd went silent. All eyes turned on Sakura who felt extremely embarrassed for going off the rails like that, again.

"Seriously, Forehead..." Ino groaned as she facepalmed.

"Wait, Sakura-chan?" One of the soldiers asked.

Sakura and the others looked up to finally get a good look at the heroic saviors of the Leaf. They were all nothing like what the girls were expecting. They all looked they had been thrown in a muddy blender. They saw men shuffling like zombies, their eyes sunken, vacant expressions. Yet the one who addressed Sakura was even more distinguished. He was a head taller than Sakura, his helmet hung loosely on his head. His jaw was covered in preach fuzz. And his cheeks had what looked like six very recent scars running horizontal across his face like whisker marks. To everyone, he looked completely unrecognizable.

"I'm sorry. Do I know you?" Sakura asked, flabbergasted that such a rugged, yet hansom man knew her name.

"Of course you know me...We've known each other since we were kids." The man chuckled.

"Wait a minute...Naruto?" Ino gasped. "Is that...Really you?"

"Naruto!?" Sakura gasped, now seeing his blue eyes and his spikey blond hair sticking out from his helmet.

"Who else would I be?" Naruto asked.

"Naruto?" Hinata asked, astonished.

"Is that my cousin?" Naruto smiled, delighted to see part of his family again.

"I don't believe it..." Tenten breathed out.

"Tenten?" Another gruff voice spoke. The girls looked over to see Neji being carried on a stretcher in between Lee and Choji, not that either of them looked any better off.

"Oh my god! Neji!" Tenten shrieked when she saw the state of him.

Neji coughed while keeping his cigarette in his mouth. "Hey, Babe."

"What happened to you?" Tenten cried as she ran right to his side.

"Took a few round to the abdomen. Doctors patched him up. He'll be fine with some bedrest." Choji said with a cigar in between his teeth.

"We all dished out more than we took." Naruto said listlessly.

"Hoorah." Kiba said emotionlessly as he came into the picture with huge bandage over his shoulder and a bottle of Vodka in the other hand he didn't have when he walked into the village.

"Where is Shikamaru?" Temari asked.

"Right here." Shikamaru said from the other side of a Chi-nu tank. He walked around the back of it and Temari could finally see her boyfriend.

"Shikamaru!" Temari shouted as she ran up to the poor boy and tackled him with a hug. The crowd renewed their cheers when the young couple was reunited. The girls too were also overjoyed to see the both of them reunited, but then it dawned on Sakura. They were missing someone.

"Wait, where's Sasuke?" Sakura asked.

"And Shino. Where is he?" Hinata asked.

All the men looked at the girls with hard faces.

"Shino got badly hit in the face. He's in an army hospital somewhere between here and the front." Choji said sadly. "But..."

Naruto took a few steps closet to Sakura. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a crumpled-up letter. "He wanted you and Itachi to have this." He said as he handed Sakura a letter that was written on the outside in Sasuke's hand; _To my siblings._

"You mean...Naruto. please tell me my brother is okay..." Sakura demanded, her heart feeling heavy like lead weights.

Naruto just looked at her with a serious face, like he was carved out of wood. "Sakura-chan... I'm sorry."

"When the enemy artillery started firing on us...One shell landed in the foxhole where both Sasuke and Shino were...only Shino made it out." Kiba informed.

"No...oh my God..." Sakura choked as she clutched the letter in her hands. She fell to her knees right into Naruto's chest and she wailed.

"I'm so sorry..." Naruto said softly.

All the girls held their hands to their mouths. The men all kept quiet, they had long since grieved. But to the girls, it was fresh and terrible. To think it would happen to Sasuke. He was always so kind.

"Sakura." Ino whispered as she hugged her best friend from behind, trying to pull her away from Naruto.

"How...How am I...going to tell...Itachi..." Sakura sobbed.

"I'll tell him." Naruto said out of the blue.

Sakura looked up in awe, her face stained with tears. "What?"

"I want to tell him. If you'll let me. Sasuke was my best friend." Naruto reasoned. His voice was strange to Sakura. The awkward uncertainty was gone, replaced with a commanding tone that Sakura wasn't sure she could bring herself to say no to.

"Uh...O-okay...Mind walking me...Home?"

"Yeah sure. Guys, are we still on for Asuma's Bar later?" Naruto turned back to face all of his buddies.

"I'm gonna pass, guys. I have some...Catching up to do." Shikamaru said before smiling at Temari.

"Yeah, be sure to get some for your old pal Kiba." Kiba smirked as he took another swig of his drink.

"We'll see." Temari said before she was led away by her love.

"Well we need to get this lucky bastard to the hospital." Choji said as he hoisted Neji's stretcher back up. Lee kept quiet but just nodded. "We'll definitely meet you at Asuma's though." Choji added.

"I'll be in the hospital. Keeping the nurses company." Neji smirked.

"The Hell you will." Tenten snapped as she walked closely beside his stretcher.

"Alright." Naruto said as he helped Sakura to her feet and led her by her shoulders out of the crowd.

"Why Sasuke...Why him...He was one of the nicest people you would ever meet..." Sakura sniffed.

"He was in the wrong fox hole at the wrong time." Naruto whispered bluntly.

That made something inside Sakura make her do a double take. That was not something Naruto would say, especially not at a time like this. He never was so callous. Not even when her mom was killed by some street thug. He was never so callous in general. He was such a happy go lucky guy. Almost to the point of annoyance. Yet he couldn't help but rub off on you. That's what happened to Sasuke anyway. He was such a moody little twerp before he started hanging out with Naruto.

The two of them walked along the street without saying another word. Sakura walking beside a battered and bruised army man turned more than a few heads and made more than handful of housewives whisper risqué things to themselves, but Naruto either ignored them or just plain didn't care.

Finally, they arrived at the Uchiha house, home to the three Uchiha siblings. Or the two, now.

Naruto stood behind Sakura as she unlocked the door.

"Hey Sakura, you're home early." Itachi's voice called out to her from the kitchen.

"Itachi...You need to come here..." Sakura chocked out.

Naruto and Sakura heard a pot being placed down and Itachi poked his head out down the hall wearing a pink apron. "Sakura?"

"Itachi..." Sakura cried before hugging her older brother. "It's Sasuke...He...He..."

"Shhh, I know." Itachi hugged Sakura tightly and kissed the crown of Sakura's head. Her eyes went wide.

"You knew? But how?" Sakura asked.

Itachi reached into his pocket and pulled out a letter from the Army. "It arrived just this morning. After you left for work. I wanted to tell you this evening." Itachi looked over at Naruto. "But it seems I was beaten to the punch."

"He wanted me to give you this." Naruto said as he handed him the letter.

Itachi carefully took the letter that bore his younger brother's signature. "Thank you, Naruto. Truly."

Naruto nodded and turned to leave.

"Naruto, wait." Itachi spoke, regaining the blonde's attention. "Would you like to come in? Rest your feet in the living room?"

Naruto turned back, looking genuinely uncomfortable. "Oh, I don't know. I should probably check in with my parents. You know how worried my mom gets."

"Please, Naruto..." Sakura begged, which tugged at Naruto's heart strings.

"Well, maybe for just a little bit." Naruto shrugged.

"Thank you...It means a lot to me." Sakura said softly.

Then a thought occurred to Naruto. "I'm sorry but... could I use your shower?"

"By all means. Upstairs and down the hall. First door on the left." Itachi said.

"Thanks." Naruto said. He got three steps up the stairs before he had another thought. "Oh and... could I use your..." He motioned to this face. "Shaving kit?"

"Yes, there is a straight razor on the sink." Itachi said.

"Thanks." Naruto said as he finished his journey up the stairs.

Sakura wiped the tears from her eyes. _'What happened to Naruto?'_ She thought. He used to run up those stairs to meet up with Sasuke. Now there was no spring in his step. He just walked up them.

"He's changed a lot." Itachi commented.

"Yeah, why? He hasn't been gone that long?" Sakura asked. She had treated men returning from the front lines before. They were broken more often than not, sure. But they usually bounced back. And this was Naruto they were talking about. He was the epitome of a sunny disposition.

"War can do that to people, Sakura. Just look at our ancestors." Itachi said as he pointed to an old photograph on the wall.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Sakura asked.

"Well, you see your ancestor there? According to our families records, she fought in the 4th Shinobi world war. As did your other ancestor there and Naruto's." Itachi continued.

"Yes, they fought the Akatsuki, the 10 Tails and Kaguya. We've all heard the legends. But what does that have to do with anything?" Sakura pressed.

Itachi just sighed. "Well, you love to read history, so I would suggest you check out the old family record house in the old district." Itachi said before handing her a key.

"I am not going to do that." Sakura said.

"I think you should...anyway, the choice is yours and our old compound still belongs to us." Itachi said simply before heading back into the kitchen.

Sakura paused before looking at the old picture on the wall. It was old for sure, but she saw what looked like herself, Sasuke and Naruto back when they were kids. Some of it was hard to make out due to its age, but there was a man standing behind them. They wore the old Leaf Shinobi headbands and they seemed to be smiling.

 _'Maybe someday I'll look more into our family's past.'_ she thought before looking upstairs. _'But I have my own knucklehead to save.'_

"Sakura, why don't you go relax in the living room? I've got your favorite dinner cooking. Should be done in an hour." Itachi said.

Sakura sighed. "Kinda hard to do with everything that's been going on..."

"Well I thought it might cheer you up when I told you the news." Itachi admitted.

"I know...it's just...I wish he hadn't gone off to fight. What exactly did he have to prove?"

"I don't know." Itachi admitted. "I like to think he didn't want to let Naruto go alone. Maybe it was just loyalty to his country. Who really knows?" Itachi said.

"What does the letter say?" Sakura asked.

Itachi turned the letter over in his hands. "Why don't you read it while I cook. Or would you like to help me?"

"You know I suck at cooking..." Sakura deadpanned.

"You do. I just thought you might like to keep your hands busy. I know how you relax more when you're working." Itachi admitted.

"I think I'm gonna go to my room...let me see the letter."

"Of course." Itachi said. He gave Sakura the letter and one last hug before letting his sister head up the stairs.

Sakura made her way down the hallway and saw Naruto had left the door open and way shaving in the hallway. She had never actually seen him shaving. She didn't know why, but she found it fascinating. The way his hands delicately scraped the blade across his jaw. The look of concentration on his face. He reminded her of her father, back when Sakura was a little girl.

"Ah, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked without breaking his concentration.

"Uh...y-yes. I was just going to my room to-" She paused and gasped when she noticed that Naruto was just standing there in his boxers.

"Well you were staring at me- Oh shit." Naruto said as soon as he noticed that he was showing off his shit stained army underpants. Sakura however had only noticed how sculpted Naruto's torso had become. Not a shred of baby fat remained, all that was left was a man.

 _'Army Training agrees with him.'_ Sakura absentmindedly thought.

"Ah shit. Sorry, Sakura-chan. I'm used to not being...well there is a lot less modesty in the army." Naruto said before closing the door.

 _'Holy hell he got hot...'_ Sakura thought before feeling something wet come down her nose.

 _'What in the?'_ She thought as she wiped her nose and saw the blood on her fingers. _'No, absolutely not. I cannot be having these thoughts when I just learned my fucking brother was killed and now my friends are back and... it's fucking Naruto!'_

Then she thought back to Naruto's new depressive state. Since he came back today, he just wasn't the same. It was almost like...

 _'Oh my god...does he blame himself for Sasuke's death?'_ She thought. They were the closest of friends. Almost like they were brothers from the start. If there was a reason for his sudden change in attitude, that would be it.

"Naruto...what happened to you..." Sakura whispered before continuing to her room.

Her bedroom was of standard affair. White walls with pink bed sheets and a desk stacked high with medical text books. She had a bulletin board covered head to toe in photos of all her friends and family hanging out when they were younger. Sakura's gaze lingered on one photo in particular that showed her, Naruto, and Sasuke all in their bathing suits at Naruto's family's summer home. Naruto had originally only invited Sasuke, but Sakura had nagged her brother to let her come along too. Needless to say, they all had a great time together. But now they never would again.

She held out the letter, wanting to open it then and there, but something held her back. She placed the letter down on her bed, figuring that she should get comfortable before reading it. Except she then spent the next 20 minutes just staring at the unopened letter.

That was when she heard a knocking on her door.

"Come in." Sakura said.

The door opened to reveal Naruto, this time he was fully clothed in his raggedy uniform, but he was certainly more presentable than he had been when he arrived. Now clean, Sakura could see more clearly the extent of his wounds. His eyes were baggy. He had cuts all along his face, chest, and arms. Wounds that had not been given the chance to heal properly and had left scars. Most noticeably the six whisker scars on his cheeks. They looked angry. Red, inflamed, and slightly frost bitten.

"I ah, finished my shower." Naruto declared.

"Jesus, Naruto...what happened out there?" Sakura asked in shock.

"Out where?"

"Where do you think? During the battle."

"Oh right, sorry." Naruto apologized.

"Naruto..." Sakura said softly. "What happened out there? You've changed since before you joined the army..."

Naruto didn't hear her as his thoughts had returned to that battle. A month of nonstop fighting. Shells bursting overhead. Bullets zipping over trenches. Friends screaming and crying next to you as tanks rolled past from either side. All while fighting off the blistering cold shoving needles into any part of you uncover by fabric.

"Naruto?" Sakura asked before seeing a twisted and horrified expression on Naruto's face.

Naruto began to visibly shake and then grabbed his arm. He took a deep breath and seemed to calm down. "I'm sorry, Sakura-chan. Did you say something?"

Sakura knew those symptoms all too well, but seeing as she wasn't cleared to make a proper diagnosis, she came up with another idea. "Come sit here." She said, patting the spot next to her on her bed.

"Okay..." Naruto said, making his way over and sitting down right next to Sakura. The bed was softer than he was used to. Surprisingly so.

"Now tell me..." She said before taking his hand into hers and started messaging it. "What happened out there?"

Naruto looked at Sakura with the most serious look she had ever seen on his face. "I'd rather not." He said, tightening his grip on Sakura's hand. "Not yet. Please."

 _'He has PTSD...I'm certain of it.'_ Sakura thought. "You know, you can always confide in me...You always have..." She spoke softly.

"Um, no, I don't believe I ever have." Naruto said, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes you did. Remember about six years ago, you told me that one secret you never wanted me to mention to anyone?"

"Sakura, that was a stupid prank." Naruto said, his voice growing lower, annoyed at her insistence.

Now Sakura was really thrown for a loop. He always thought his pranks were hilarious and genius. "W-what...?" She breathed out. "You never call your pranks stupid... You're...Worrying me Naruto."

Naruto was surprised at Sakura's reaction, or perhaps he just realized how he had spoken to her. He relented. "I'm sorry."

"Naruto...I'm worried about you...You haven't been yourself since before you left..." Sakura said with concern.

"Well I can't help that. I just got back and the last thing I want to do is talk about the war." Naruto stated.

"Alright..." Sakura said in dejection. "Well...Dinner should be ready and... Well, whenever you wanna talk...I'm here for you."

Sakura stood up to head downstairs but is stopped by a hand reaching out to hers. She looks back at Naruto, whose stone-cold face finally shows signs of cracking.

"Thank you, Sakura. I appreciate that. I really do."

"You know I'd do anything to help you. We've been friends since we were 8 years old." Sakura said softly.

Naruto gripped Sakura's hand tighter. "Thank you." He repeated.

Sakura could see that he was struggling with his emotions. This was all entirely new to her. Something was bothering him so she did what she had always done for Ino when she got dumped by some sleazy guy. She wrapped him up in a warm hug.

Naruto was shocked when he felt Sakura pressed against him. It was nice, but something was different.

"Hey Sakura?"

"Shh...Don't talk..." She said, hoping that this would help him. Damn did she wish she was one of the ninjas of old.

"I was just going to ask. When did you grow breasts?"

Sakura's face immediately turned red. She pulled away and slugged him hard in the gut. "Pervert!" She snapped.

"Ooh, right in my one unhurt spot." Naruto groaned as he fell to the floor. Sakura huffed and head back downstairs where Itachi was putting the finishing touches on dinner.

"What's got your feathers ruffled?" Itachi joked.

"You boys are all perverts." Sakura growled as she sat down at the kitchen table.

"And some of you women ain't much better. What's your point?"

"Women aren't perverts." Sakura stated.

"You wanna bet? Or should I bring up that moment with Ino at the gym."

Sakura blushed. "Please no."

"Like I said. You're a doctor, you should know that it is the most basic of human desires. I'm sure you've had some of your own a time or two and don't tell me you haven't. You may be 20 Years old, but I still know my little sister well enough to know when she's lying." Itachi preached.

"Just shut up. I take it we've invited Naruto to dinner?"

"Well of course. That is if he's willing."

"Oh I doubt Naruto will ever turn down your home cooking. If only you were a girl, Itachi. You'd make an excellent wife." Sakura said.

"Ha ha...Very funny...Besides, I think he'd want you over me."

"Wha- what makes you say that?" Sakura cried.

"You mean besides the fact that he has had a crush on you since before he met Sasuke? I don't know, maybe he likes pink hair on girls." Itachi teased.

"He...H-he what…?" Sakura gasped.

"You didn't know? It was obvious to everyone, Sakura. You never questioned why he invited you and Sasuke to come to his family's summer home every summer?"

"Well...No, not really. I didn't think he was serious…"

Sakura then realized something. "Wait, I was the one who begged Sasuke to let me come with him!"

"All a part of our elaborate ruse I'm afraid. Naruto didn't want to ask you directly. So I told you he only invited Sasuke and you begged to go." Itachi said.

"Wait a minute. You two were trying to set us up!? This whole fucking time!?" Sakura shouted.

"No. Just help him out the one time. Then nothing ever came of it and I assumed he moved on." Itachi shrugged.

"Ahem..." They heard Naruto say from the bottom of the stairs. They never even heard him come down.

"Hey Naruto. How much did you hear?" Itachi asked for a beet red Sakura.

"All of it." Naruto stated.

 _'Oh my God.'_ Sakura thought. _'Is he...?'_

"Is dinner ready?" Naruto asked bluntly.

"Just about. Uh...You don't wanna talk about what you walked in on?"

"Not particularly. I've been dying to taste some real food for months now. It's not ramen, but it'll have to do." Naruto said as he pulled up a chair.

"Well it's not ramen like you'd get at Ichiraku's, but it's still good if I do say so myself." Itachi declared as he served up a bowl to Naruto.

"Well hey. Far be it for me to turn down ramen." Naruto said before accepting the bowl.

"There is the old Naruto." Itachi smiled.

 _'So he is still in there...but...what does he think of me...?'_ Sakura wondered to herself before she saw a big grin on his face for the first time since he came home.

"Oh man! That's good!" Naruto praised.

"Glad you approve, Naruto." Itachi said as he served himself and Sakura a bowl as well.

"Well, it's not as good as Ichiraku's, but it's a damn close second in my book."

"That's still very high praise."

"Well, he does love ramen." Sakura said simply.

"Yeah. If only you were a girl. I'd have to make you my wife." Naruto joked.

Just then the phone started ringing.

"You're not the first man to tell me that." Itachi joked back as he stood up to answer the phone.

"Uchiha residence."

 _'Okay...that was odd but alright.'_ Sakura shrugged before going back to eat her meal.

"It's Kushina. Is my Naruto there by chance?"

"He is, Mrs. Uzumaki. Safe and sound." Itachi stated.

"Oh good..." Kushina sighed in relief. "Hanging out with Sakura and Sasuke I imagine?"

Itachi took a deep breath. "Unfortunately, no ma'am. Your son delivered us Sasuke's letter."

Itachi heard Kushina gasped and then went silent. "Oh no... I'm so sorry..."

"It is alright. Thank you, Lady Kushina, for your sympathies."

"Sympathies, nothing. How is Sakura holding up? How are you?"

"We are both pretty devastated. But we will both pull through this." Itachi said.

"Not alone you won't. Minato and I will be over in twenty minutes. Tell my son not to go anywhere." Kushina ordered.

"Um...well okay. You don't have to but-"

"But nothing. We're coming over and that's final." Kushina stated.

Itachi just chuckled. "Alright. I'll make a fresh batch of Ramen then."

"You absolute angel. If you weren't a man I would want you as a daughter-in-law." Kushina said before hanging up the phone.

 _'78 times...jeez.'_ Itachi thought before putting the phone down.

"Hey guys, am I too girly?" Itachi asked.

Sakura just laughed. "Well, you do come off as that sometimes."

"Oh you're just jealous because I'm prettier than you." Itachi said.

"Ooooooooooooohhhh!" Naruto cheered.

"Oh like hell you are. I got guys flirting with me every day at the hospital." Sakura smirked.

"Oh is that right? Well then maybe I should head over there and break some more of their arms." Itachi teased.

"Nah I got that covered." Sakura waved off. "So who was on the phone?"

"Mrs. Uzumaki. Your parents are coming over, Naruto."

"Really? How come?" Naruto asked.

"Because you are here."

"Hmmm, any chance I can meet them without them freaking out about this?" He pointed at his whisker scars.

"Probably not." Sakura said.

"I know Minato well enough to know that he would expect you to come back scared up. But your mom on the other hand..." Itachi said.

"Yea, don't remind me." Naruto sighed.

"She means well. Just try and cut her some slack." Itachi said as he got to cooking again.

Naruto sighed. "I hear ya..."

"Anyway. Who do you think is prettier?" Itachi joked.

"Shit, that's easy. Sakura-chan is." Naruto said simply without even giving it a second thought.

"Ha! See? Even he...wait, what...?" Sakura gasped. Did he really call her...pretty?

"Oh Naruto, you wound me." Itachi says dramatically.

"Sorry bro, I call them like I see them." Naruto said as he kept eating.

"You...really think I'm..." Sakura breathed out, gaining Naruto's attention.

"Huh? Of course I do. I'd have to be blind not to think that. Hell, a blind man would think you're beautiful." Naruto said casually.

Sakura looked like a dear caught in the headlights as a small blush adorned her face.

 _'My work here is done.'_ Itachi thought with a smile before continuing to cook.

That's when everything Naruto said caught up to him and looked at Sakura's expression. He quickly looked away and focused back on his meal.

"Well, thank you for the compliment Naruto. That was really sweet of you." Sakura smiled.

"No problem." Naruto said in between slurps of his noodles.

The trio ate in silence for almost a minute before there was a knock at the door.

"I got it." Sakura said before getting up to answer the door.

She opens the front door found a splendidly dressed noble man and woman. The man holding his Hokage hat against his chest as a sign of respect. And the red headed woman looks to be on the verge of tears.

"Oh Sakura, honey..." Kushina said before wrapping the pinkette in a hug. "I'm so sorry for your loss..."

Sakura gratefully returned the hug. "Thank you, Mrs. Uzumaki." Sakura sniffed.

"It's alright dear...just let it out..."

"No, no, you two should come in first. My apologies, Lord Hokage." Sakura said to Minato.

"Think nothing of it, Sakura...how is Naruto? I hope he's not blaming himself." Minato said.

Sakura looked back at the table to see Naruto talking to Itachi before looking back at Minato. "I think he does...he hasn't been the same since before he left..." Sakura whispered.

"Oh dear." Kushina said, knowing how close her son was with Sasuke.

"He won't even look at me the same either..." Sakura added.

"Oh boy...well, let's head inside. I wanna see how he's doing." Minato said.

As Sakura led them into the kitchen, Minato and Kushina lingered behind her to speak in private. "Since when does she care if our son looks at her?" He whispered to his wife.

"Maybe she's finally returning his feelings for her." Kushina hoped.

"Maybe. But Naruto was always iffy about dating Sakura because she was his best friend's sister. How is he supposed to treat her now that he's dead?" The couple hushed up as they entered the kitchen and saw their son for the first time in months. Kushina gasped when she finally saw Naruto. Even after a good shower and shave, he still had an air about him, like the weight of the world stood on his shoulders. Minato knew that look well. He saw it every time he looked in the mirror.

"Hey mom, dad." Naruto greeted emotionlessly.

"Son." Minato nodded.

"My baby. Oh my God, your face!" Kushina exclaimed as she ran behind the table and grabbed his cheeks.

"It's nothing mom. It's just a scratch." Naruto waved off.

"A scratch? It looks like someone cut into your cheeks with a jagged knife. Oh Sage, we're you tortured?!" She exclaimed.

"Mom, I wasn't. Seriously. Some shrapnel came a little close to my face. It hurt, but a medic patched me up. I'm fine." Naruto said, annoyed.

"Don't you take that tone with me, mister. You worry me to death for a year and you come home all cut up and with a shitty attitude." Kushina scolded.

"I was in training for 10 months and then was sent to war. Excuse me!" Naruto snapped.

 **smack**

"You watch your tone!" Kushina snapped.

"I was watching my tone! You're the one who freaked out like you always do!" Naruto stood up from his chair.

"EXCUSE YOU?!" Kushina yelled.

"I don't need your excuse. I just spent a fucking month out fighting in the freezing ass cold, watched my buddies die, and then marched AAALLL the way back down here just to get nagged at by you!" Naruto shouted.

"Naruto stop it!" Sakura cried. "What the hell happened to you?! You would NEVER raise your voice at your mother!"

"I WENT TO WAR!" Naruto shouted. "WHY IS THAT SO HARD FOR YOU ALL TO UNDERSTAND?!" He screamed, losing all his restraint. "I JUST WANTED TO COME HOME AND GET SOME GOD DAMN REST! IS THAT TOO MUCH TO ASK?" He stormed out of the kitchen and out the door.

"Naruto!" Sakura shouted. She wanted to chase after him, but felt Itachi's hand planted firmly on her shoulder.

"Just leave him be, Sakura." Itachi said.

"But he-"

"Is going through a lot right now. My guess is that he needs his space." Itachi said.

"But why won't he just talk to me?" Sakura asked.

"I can't say for certain, Sakura. It's not easy for men to show weakness like that."

"No it isn't." Minato sighed.

"But that's ridiculous." Sakura said.

"Try to look at it from his perspective. He's had to he's had to be strong in order to fight. That meant bottling up his emotions or else he couldn't function on the battlefield. If he couldn't function then he would let down his teammates. He's just been strong for so long that he has forgotten how to turn it off." Minato said.

"How do you know?" Sakura asked.

"I fought in the Third World War, remember?"

"Oh...then...how did you cope with it?" Sakura asked.

Minato sighed. "Time. Time and having my friends beside me."

"And me of course." Kushina said as she hugged his arm.

"Yeah." Minato smiled. "Give him time, Sakura. And most importantly, keep being his friend."

"I don't...I don't think he wants me around him..." Sakura said sadly.

"I know, but trust me when I say that he needs you now more than ever. Not just him, but all your friends."

"Why are you worried about that all of a sudden?" Itachi asked what was on everyone's minds.

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked.

"I mean...why are you worried that he wouldn't want to be around you? You never really minded before." Itachi clarified.

"He's still my friend isn't he?" Sakura said.

"Well yes. But you're acting like he's something more."

"No I'm not." Sakura snapped. Itachi raised up his hands in defense.

"Alright, fine, you're right."

 _'She totally is.'_ The others all thought.

"Urgh, now I'm ticked off. I need some air." Sakura said as she made her way out the door.

Once she left, the adults just stood there.

"Do you think we came off to strong?" Itachi asked.

"I did. How could I yell at my baby? What kind of mother am I? He just came back from war after months and I argued with him." Kushina cried.

"Hey, it's alright..." Minato soothed as he wrapped her up in a hug.

Itachi stepped away from the couple, over to the window over the sink. He looked out at the city horizon peaking just over the walls of the tiny Uchiha compound. He had never been to war, but he had seen its effect on people at a young age. Back when the 3rd World War was raging. He couldn't help but imagine that right now, hundreds, maybe thousands of families were all going through similar trials as their loved ones returned home. There would be no innocent civilians in this war. All would feel it's wrath. What could anyone do but hold on?

* * *

Meanwhile, with Naruto, he had stormed off in a hurry and found himself headed towards Asuma's bar.

"Damn parents giving me shit...I killed more people than I care to remember...Sasuke lost his fucking life because of me. And Sakura...what gives her the right to interfere with my business." He said to himself.

He stomped his way down the street. Passing by fellow soldiers partying it up while they were home on leave and couples shamelessly making out in alleyways or parks or where you could squeeze two or three people into a spot. They all just annoyed him, so Naruto trudged past them and ducked into the Leaf's oldest serving pub. Asuma's bar. Established in 1492, during the reign of Naruto's ancestor, the 7th Hokage.

Naruto of course didn't care about any of that and walked straight into the bar and sat down at the front counter were every other seat besides one was taken.

"What'll ya have?" The bartender asked.

"Whatever is strong." Naruto said as he cracked his knuckles to get the aches and pains out.

"Gotcha. Scotch on the rocks it is." The bartender said.

Naruto nodded as he reached for his wallet. Only to remember that he didn't have a wallet. Not since basic training.

"I ah, don't have any money on me right now." Naruto admitted.

"I got him covered." A female voice said as a figure sat down next to him.

Both men looked over to see a certain Pink Haired Young Lady holding out her wallet.

"Sakura-chan, what are you doing here?" Naruto growled.

"Getting away from my brother." Sakura said simply before placing money on the counter. "Double shot of whiskey."

"And since when do you drink?" Naruto asked, remembering Sakura always lecturing him and Sasuke for sneaking sips of beer when their parents weren't looking. Right up to them being legally allowed to drink at age 20.

"About two months after you left...when the wounded soldiers started pouring into the hospital."

"Heh, looks like I'm not the only one who changed." Naruto smirked as the bartender passed him his scotch.

"Yes...I've changed quite a bit. Countless nights of no sleep...praying that I wouldn't see you, any of our friends...or Sasuke...come off the countless ambulances that came."

Naruto sighed. He took his drink in his hand and swished it around like he had seen all those movie stars do it. "Did you get any guys from Argon Forest? I kept hearing that we could never get them more south than the nearby village."

"Probably...the days seemed to blend together that I didn't really notice." Sakura said before she received her drink and downed it immediately. "Keep them coming." She told the bartender.

Naruto looked at her like she just unveiled her second head. "Did you just down that thing in one go?"

"Yea, your point?" Sakura asked.

"Nothing. I've just never seen you do that." Naruto said as he held up his hands.

"Hm..." She said before going after her second drink. "You know...this war didn't just affect you and our friends...it affected everyone here. Including me."

"I suppose." Naruto said as he took a sip of his scotch. "It's just hard to believe that when you're out there. Hard to think of anything else besides living through the next few seconds. And then when you get time to reflect, you can't help but be bitter of the guys who get to sleep in beds that very night. Eat some warm food. Who never see the things you do."

"You don't think I had to go through something similar?"

"I don't know what you had to go through. I wasn't thinking of you every second of the day." Naruto said more harshly than he intended.

Sakura was hurt, but kept her temper in check. "Well the way you put it, I feel similar, being a doctor." She downed her next shot, feeling the liquid fire run down her throat. "I see misery every day. And then I walk home past people who take their good health so casually. And I just want to throttle them for laughing while a boy their age sits in a hospital bed, dying of cancer." She said.

Naruto sighed. Sakura received her next drink and looked at the brown liquid in the tiny shot glass like she would a basin containing the unsatisfying secrets of the universe.

Sakura heard the ice cubes in Naruto's drink clink and saw him holding his glass up to her. "Here's to life then."

"Yea...to life." She said listlessly as she clinked her glass with Naruto's.

The two childhood friends then just sat there, sipping their drinks and enjoying each other's silent company for God knows how many hours.

* * *

Meanwhile, in one of the Leaf village's fanciest hotel rooms, the curtains were drawn and the bed was squeaking as the Nara heir was currently balls deep in the daughter of the Ambassador of the Sand. Since his arrival back in his home town, Shikamaru had been dragged by his girlfriend to the first hotel room she would approved of and was eagerly shown her newest purchase of undergarments. Black, flowery designed bra and panty set with matching garter belt and stockings. The young G.I. had showed his approval of Temari's taste in underwear by ripping her bra off with his tongue and caressing every inch of her he could wrap his fingers around. Or inside.

After hours of fun, Temari now found herself pushed face down into lacy pillows with her stockings still on and her panties being torn off and discarded some time ago. Shikamaru meanwhile was kneading her ass so hard he thought his fingers would get lost, all while his hips continued to piston in and out of Temari like they too would be sucked inside of her and be blissfully lost forever.

After several minutes of this, Temari suddenly reached back her hand to grab Shikamaru's right hand. He knew that she wanted to feel him be with her as she came and Shikamaru was in no position to refuse her. He squeezed her tiny hand into his callas hand and the two of them let loose a mighty roar.

Temari clamped down on Shikamaru, squeezing him for every last drop he had while Shikamaru gave and gave and gave.

They both collapsed on top of the bed. Temari panting heavily and Shikamaru breathing in deeply to her hair that covered his face. They were both sweaty, sticky, and for the first time in over a year, completely satisfied.

"Fuck...I needed that." Shikamaru gasped out, not turning away but instead rubbing his nose into Temari's neck.

Temari turned her head unable to trust the strength of her legs at the present time. "You needed that?" She blew some hair out of her face. "What happened to the lazy smartass that I had to beg to get him to go twice in a row?"

"He had to go a year without you, so he saved up." Shikamaru said as he sat up and grabbed one of the cigarettes laying on the night stand.

"Jeez, if only if I could have like, 12 of you. Each of them I refrain from having sex with for a year at a time. Then I might have a decent sex life." Temari smirked as she propped herself up on her elbows to accept one of her lover's precious cigarettes that he was offering her.

"No such luck. You're stuck with the one." Shikamaru said as he lit his Lucky Strikes cigarette, relishing that familiar ashy taste in his mouth bringing him back down.

Temari smirked as took a drag of her own cigarette, only to feel Shikamaru's hand caressing her bottom.

"Getting frisky again, are we?" Temari smirked.

"I just really missed you." Shikamaru said as he took another drag, both from his Lucky Strikes and along Temari's ass.

He then took a good look around himself at the lavish décor provided for the Honeymoon Suite. Hand carved wooden chairs with padding on shiny oak desks, decked out with golden lampshades in the corner. A queen sized bed with gold painted headboards designed to look befitting to royalty. And even an honest to god fireplace like you would see in some Daimyo's smaller mansion. "We really shouldn't have come here."

"Why?"

"This room. It's way too expensive."

"What? Did you think I was going to sleep with you in some crummy motel? Your dick isn't that good." Temari joked.

"Your father will notice once he gets his credit card bill. How long until he puts two and two together?" Shikamaru said seriously.

"Well then we'll have to come clean with our relationship finally. Won't that be scary?" She mocked before blowing smoke against the back of Shikamaru's head.

"I'm serious. You remember how he nearly sent you back home when he caught you going out with Sasuke. What happens if he catches wind of me and actually send you home to the Sand?" Shikamaru stated seriously.

"Then you shall gallantly swoop in and propose to me. And I, as a legally recognized woman, will accept your offer and live here with my new green card." Temari stated.

"I am not proposing to you while I'm still in service. Definitely not before I have to go off and fight again." Shikamaru stated, his voice growing heavy with every word uttered.

"What are you so scared of? Leaving me a widow? It's not like it would be some tragically uncommon thing." Temari said.

"It's not a JOKE!" Shikamaru snapped, startling Temari.

The room was filled with silence. The only thing that could be heard was the burning of tobacco and the sound of a headboard hitting the wall in the next room over.

Shikamaru immediately regretted yelling, but before he could say anything he felt his girlfriend's delicate touch rubbing up and down his shoulder blades.

"Has it ever occurred to you that maybe I would want to be your widow over being your grieving lover?" Temari asked.

Shikamaru was stunned. "Wait...are...are you...proposing to me...?"

"No, I'm just saying. Maybe I'd want to raise up your son too. Or your daughter. You've just never asked." Temari took another long drag of her Lucky Strike, right up to the butt.

The lover in Shikamaru was over the roof, but the cynic in him couldn't help but get a word in edgewise. "Yeah, or maybe you just want the first pickings on my 100,000 Ryo Life Insurance policy. OW!" He cried as Temari put her cigarette out on his shoulder blade she had been massaging.

"I would tear up that damn policy right now and burn away the ashes if you were to propose to me afterwards. Don't you ever forget it." She said.

"Right...sorry, I didn't know what I was saying." Shikamaru said.

"Good." Temari said as she leaned forward to grab two Lucky Strikes. She stuck them both in between her luscious ruby red lips and lit them both. Then when she had wet the end of one of them enough, she plucked it out and stuck it in Shikamaru's mouth to replace his last cigarette that he had let go out. "Because whether or not you die as my husband, my fuck buddy, or the father of my child, I am still left grieving the same amount for you. Don't think you're doing me any favors keeping our relationship casual."

Shikamaru took a long drag of what he considered to be the best tasting cigarette he had ever had in his life. "So should I be running off to the nearest jewelry store or are you one of those rare non-materialistic sort of girls?"

"Sage of Six Paths you're bad at this. Do I look like one of those materialistic sort of girls?" Temari asked as she sat in her peacock feather hotel bed with actual golden thread stitched into the fabric of the comforter. "And don't go proposing to me just cause I force you to. Do it when you want to and when I least expect it." Temari ordered.

"I know. But maybe I want to?" Shikamaru smirked.

"Maybe you piss me off with you jumping around on decisions. If I wanted someone who thought with their heart I would fuck Naruto." Temari said as she blew smoke in Shikamaru's face.

"Naruto..." Shikamaru said before he stared off at the ceiling.

"What?" Temari asked.

"The toll of this war has taken a toll on all of us...but its hit him the hardest..." Shikamaru said.

"Why? Because of Sasuke?" Temari asked, her hard dominating voice turned soft at the mention of Shikamaru's month long battle.

"No. That's a big part of it, sure, but we didn't know about Sasuke until a week into the fighting. We got Shino out of that hole and back to an aid station after an hour or so, but in all the confusion, nobody remembered Sasuke was sharing a hole with Shino until that poor bastard woke up. We thought Sasuke was just missing in action for a whole month." Shikamaru said.

"My God..." Temari breathed out.

"Yeah. And do you know the really messed up part? Naruto swears to this day that he fought side by side with Sasuke throughout the whole month."

"You're kidding."

"I believed him too. Right up to us meeting up with Shino again on our way here." Shikamaru said as he took a puff.

"You don't think he...cracked...do you?" Temari asked, wondering if Naruto was a danger to anyone.

"I'd be more surprised if he didn't. Him and his bottomless supply of stamina kept fighting long after the rest of us had to just give up and sleep through an ongoing attack. But he's been alert and responsive ever since the fighting started. The doctors and shrinks cleared him to come home like the rest of us." Shikamaru paused to let the taste linger on his tongue. "Maybe he just saw some guys who looked like Sasuke in the firefights. God knows we aren't short of spiky black haired men in this army."

Temari then sat up, letting the blanket fall off her. "Or maybe it's something else."

"Such as?" Shikamaru asked.

"If the legends told by our ancestors are anything to go by, it's possible that what he saw could have been Sasuke's spirit. Guiding him through the battles."

Shikamaru cocked an eyebrow. "Do you really believe in that crap?"

"Yes I do actually. Because most of that isn't just some fairytale. It actually happened." Temari huffed.

"Yes I know. We've all read the history books. But having Sasuke's spirit guide him? That seems a little farfetched."

"So you say..." Temari sighed.

Shikamaru exhaled and felt himself being pulled back to rest his head on Temari's lap. She stroked her fingers through his hair, relaxing the man into submission.

"So, you ready to try anal?" Temari asked, making Shikamaru's eyes spring wide open.

* * *

Back at the bar, Naruto and Sakura had switched to beers to taper off until the rest of their friends arrived. Because they had so many shots, they were already well in the bag.

"And that's when I told him...I'm a doctor, not a Chevy Mechanic!" Sakura howled in laughter, followed by Naruto.

"Ah shi-he-it." Naruto laughed. "What did he say?"

"He said he doesn't drive a Chevy! He said he drives a Dodge and I said well you got more problems than I can fix!" Sakura laughed.

"Ha! What an asshole." Naruto laughed so hard he nearly spilled his beer.

"Hahhh...Oh my, you've missed a lot..." Sakura slurred before laying her head on his shoulder. "It hasn't been the same here without you."

"Yeah..." Naruto said as he looked over Sakura's pink locks and saw a man sitting next to her with spiky black hair. "We all missed you girls every day during basic training." Naruto said as he gently pushed Sakura off of his shoulder.

The man with the black spiky hair looked at what Naruto was doing and just shook his head in disapproval.

Naruto ignored him and returned to his drink. "So what else has been going on since we left? Ino got a bunch of new former boyfriends I'll bet."

"Yea its...not something she cares to talk about. And I promised her I wouldn't tell." Sakura said.

"Aw come on. There's gotta be one funny one in the bunch. A guy who lied about enlisting to get into her skirt. A guy who pretended to be dead and then when he got caught claimed to be his own twin. Stuff like that." Naruto asked.

"I don't know...you know how much of a slut she can be."

"I heard that, Forehead!" A voice shouted from behind the two tipsy friends.

"Heeyy! How ya doin Miss Piggy!" Sakura slurred.

"Oh my God. Are you drunk?" Ino exclaimed.

"No way! I'm just a little...Naruto, what am I?"

"I don't know. I'm not the doctor." Naruto slurred.

"Oh yea! I forgot!" Sakura laughed as she became unstable on her barstool.

Ino snickered. "Sakura, you're completely smashed."

"Well I had to keep this mopey sad sack company until the rest of you arrived..." Sakura slurred. "That and Itachi said he was prettier than me. I needed a drink." Sakura slumped against the bar counter.

"I think you've had more than a drink." Ino giggled before taking a seat next to her.

"I don't need to take that from you. It's been a rough day." Sakura said sadly.

"Yes it has." Ino said softly. Remembering the half dozen new patients she had to help admit to her father's psych hospital. All boys from the 11th Division. Her father said it was a miracle that it was only those six. "But I've got some good news. Your wait is over. Because guess who I came in with?"

"Who?" Sakura asked.

"Us." Another voice said. Sakura looked behind herself to see Kiba, Choji, and Lee all standing behind her looking ready for a fucking drink.

"Hey...how ya guys doing?" Naruto slurred.

"We're fucking great. Been getting free drinks and pats on the back all day." Kiba smirked as he leaned forward to talk to Naruto privately. "Plus we convinced some really cute skirts to meet us here for some drinks. I think one or two of them said they'd bring a friend for you." He slapped Naruto on the back.

 _'Oh god no...'_ Sakura thought.

"Nah I'm good. Thanks though." Naruto waved off.

Sakura quietly let out a sigh of relief, one that Ino picked up on almost immediately.

"Something on your mind, Forehead?" Ino asked.

"No, why?" Sakura asked, her mind starting to clear up.

"I was wondering if you wanted to head home or stay behind. Knowing you, an hour of sobriety and you'll be back swinging back shots with the best of them." Ino said.

"Umm..." She mumbled before looking back at Naruto, who was still downing beers. This time with Lee and Kiba. He seemed to be okay but she hated to leave him so suddenly.

"Oh come on, Sakura. You gotta stay." Choji begged. "Tenten is at the hospital, Temari is with Shikamaru at some hotel somewhere, and Hinata went off to see Shino back at the Army Hospital."

"Well...I guess I can stay." Sakura shrugged.

"Atta girl!" Choji cheered. "Hey bartender! Something non-alcoholic for my friend here!"

"Oh no. Bartender, give me a Smirnoff if you would. I'm not driving."

"Forehead, no. You keep drinking like that, your kidney is gonna is gonna pop." Ino warned.

"It's my last one so stop worrying." Sakura waved off.

"I'd better. I ain't driving either." Ino said before signaling to the bartender. "Martini, salt around the rim."

"Well I am driving so just pop for me." Lee said.

"Nah, fuck that. Give me your keys." Kiba demanded.

"You know I can't have alcohol, Kiba." Lee deadpanned.

"I don't care. We've been planning this night for months and I won't have it ruined by your fucking teetotalism. You're having a god damn drink with us if I've gotta force it down your throat. Now keys!" Kiba demanded.

"Kiba, the last time he had a drink here, he damn near wrecked the entire bar, remember?" Sakura reminded. "Besides, you live completely on the other side of town and you know how the local police are about public intoxication."

"To Hell with the police and to Hell with my house. KEYS!" Kiba shoved his open palm into Lee's chest. Lee looked at him reluctantly and then threw the car keys into his hand.

"One drink. Just to shut you up." Lee said.

"That's all I ever wanted." Kiba said as he tossed the keys at the bartender. "Give that back to whichever man is sober. Or lady." Kiba smirked.

"Just tell them that the clutch is a little squirrely. Haven't had the time to fix it." Lee cautioned.

"Yeah, I'll be sure to mention that." The bartender said as he threw the keys into a big glass communal pot.

"Just had mine fixed the other day." Sakura said.

"Wait, you own a car?" Naruto asked.

"Yea. I got a 39 Studebaker while you were gone. Rarely use it around town, but I make trips to Land of Waves once in a while." Sakura shrugged.

"You're shitting me. I haven't been up to the Land of Waves in years. Not since my parents sold the summer house." Naruto said.

"I make runs for fresh seafood and medical supplies."

"What? No way our supply line is that bad that you have to do all that yourself." Choji exclaimed.

"It's not. I just do it for personal projects." Sakura said.

"Oh..." Naruto said.

"My dad is selling his Jeep if you want it." Ino offered.

"Tempting. But I won't have much use for it. We get redeployed on the 15th." Naruto said.

"W-what...?" Sakura breathed out. She hadn't heard about that.

"Yeah. We got sent home for a one week vacation. Then it's back in the field to await our next orders." Lee said while Kiba was busy ordering drinks.

"Oh...I see..." Sakura said sadly. She hoped she had more time.

"That fucking sucks. I thought you guys were home for good." Ino pouted.

"No. The reports we've been hearing said that this war could carry out for another 4 years." Kiba informed.

"4 years? We heard the Axis was finished. You guys broke their back." Sakura said.

"We won the battle, but not the war." Naruto said grimly. "We are supposed to be present at the next Kage Summit. They are talking about reviving the Ninja program."

"What would that mean for you guys?" Sakura asked.

"Us? Probably nothing. That'd be training for newer recruits. And they would probably just be an elite few." Naruto said as he took a swig of beer.

"That's not what I heard." Choji said. "I heard that us field boys are gonna be training on the fly. Something about the Axis trying to revive an ancient monster or something."

"Yeah." Kiba snorted. "And I heard that Mist was developing some kind of super weapon to wipe an entire city off the face of the Earth in a single blow. It's all bullshit propaganda each side throws at each other." He said as the bartender returned with five mugs of beer, only one of them was filled, and an absolute mess of shots looking like they contained four of every drink imaginable. "Now line up you sons a bitches, we've gotta have our Blockbusters."

The guys all shrugged and sat down at the bar next to Kiba, each of them in front of one of the empty mugs while the fifth actually filled mug was left alone.

"What the Hell is a Blockbuster?" Ino asked, leaning over Kiba's shoulder.

"A drink this one old Sargent taught me. Said he would always get it with his buddies after a battle. Well he lost all his buddies so I thought I'd carry on the tradition." Kiba said as he took the lead by pouring all the shots into his mug. "Whiskey." He said as he poured one shot in and the rest of the guys did the same. "Gin, Rum, Vodka, Rye, Brandy, Bourbon, and Vermouth." Kiba said, filling up his mug with all the shots into one grand concoction.

"That...looks like a liver killer." Sakura shuddered.

"Well he did recommend to start off with this one. But I forgot until now." Kiba admitted. "You might appreciate this next part though."

"Okay, I'm listening." Sakura said.

Kiba lifted up his drink as did the rest of the guys. All their eyes then fell on the lone beer sitting on the counter in between them all. "Here's to you, Sasuke." Kiba said, clinking his drink against the ownerless beer.

"To Sasuke." Choji and Lee muttered before they tapped their glasses against Sasuke's beer too.

Sakura felt her eyes well up before she clinked her bottle against the glass. "To you...Sasuke..." She whimpered.

"Rest in peace, Sasuke." Ino said as she tapped her martini glass against the beer mug.

All eyes then turned on Naruto, who hadn't made a move yet. No one dared say a word though. Finally, he raised his mug and clinked it against his best friend's mug. "To you, buddy." Naruto said right before he knocked back the entire drink. Kiba, Choji, and Lee all followed suit and the two girls plus a couple of onlookers went wide eyed when the four of them kept chugging it down. Only when their mugs were empty did each man slam their drink down and took a breath.

Sakura couldn't hold back the grief of losing her brother anymore and started crying on Ino's shoulder.

"Hey now. Come on, Sakura." Ino said, teary eyed. If Sakura started seriously crying then Ino was going to cry.

"He was my brother...I can't help it...He was always so nice to me..." Sakura cried.

"Wow, didn't think you'd down that one, buddy." An unfamiliar voice said, interrupting Sakura's tender moment. The group looked back and saw a fellow Leaf soldier looking very crisp and dapper in his dress uniform. "You're a bunch of those guys from 11, right?"

"Yea. Who are you?" Kiba asked.

"Name's Tomonori. I'm with the 14th Division, Able Company." Tomonori said, rather smugly.

"Yeah, good for you. Aren't you supposed to be in the Land of Wind fighting the Stone army?" Naruto said, not liking the guy's tone.

"Oh I was. Took some desert fort a hundred miles north of the Wind capital. Arrived back here around the same time you 11's did. Ah, but no one seems to care about that, not when the famous heroes of Bloody January have arrived." Tomonori sneered.

"Yea...We don't. So how about you get lost." Naruto said before returning to his drinks.

"Ah come on, were all soldiers here. Plenty of drinks and girls to go around." Tomonori swaggered when he spotted Ino and Sakura.

"Hey, what's all this then?" Another man's voice called out. From the crowd, another man stepped in, wearing the same uniform as his buddy Tom. "Hey, come on man. Leave these guys be. Come on." He said, trying to drag his friend back by the arm. Only to be shaken off.

"Sorry about him. We get back about a week ago and the reception wasn't nearly as big. He's just a little miffed that this is our going away party." Tom's buddy said, trying to laugh the whole thing off.

"It's funny though. Things were crazy before, then you guys come home and everyone's out partying. You'd have to fuck the Hokage himself to get a taxi."

"Yeah, funny. I could have sworn there was going to be less of you 11's. How many would you say are left? A hundred? A few dozen?" Tom asked.

"Enough for a baseball team." Lee said, trying to defuse the situation.

The two men laughed, one more good-naturedly than the other.

"How about you two just fuck off." Ino spat.

"How about you shut your trap and let the men talk?" Tom spat. "You 11's are like roaches, you know that? Everywhere we step and there's another one under our boot." Tom then spied the unattended mug sitting on the counter. "I'm guessing this is one 11 we don't have to worry about." He said as he reached for the beer mug.

Just then, Sakura's hand shot out and locked itself around his wrist in a death grip.

"Touch it...And I'll rip you to pieces..." Sakura growled.

Tom looked back at Sakura and tried to backhand her in the face. His arm was immediately caught by Naruto and the enraged men all stood up as one. Tomonori threw a punch right on Naruto's nose, who took the hit and then made a clean right hook into the bastard's jaw. Tom fell backwards like a sack of potatoes.

"Motherfucker, we froze our asses off for a month while you played hide and seek in the sand." Choji spat.

"You best stay down..." Sakura growled before picking up the barstool she was sitting on. She had gripped it so hard that the metal started to bend.

"Hey, hey, hey! Hold on!" The man's friend said frantically as he got in between Sakura and the man Naruto had just knocked flat on his ass.

"Oh ho, getting your girlfriend to fight your battles for you? Oh that's rich. You fucking 11." Tom spat as the crowd behind him tried to pull him away to keep the fight from escalating.

"Sorry about that." His friend apologized. "You know how it goes, guy has one too many beers and a bit of training. Turns into another dumb drunk who thinks he can fight."

"That...is my brother's memorial...if I see him so much as come near this bar again..." Sakura growled before she took the stool in both hands and bent the metal bar completely in half. "No doctor in the world will fix what I do to him..."

"Right, right." The man sweat dropped. "Allow us to buy you the next round. As a welcome back present from a fellow soldier."

"I think you should just leave." Lee said.

"Right. I'll just grab my friends and we'll find another bar. Hey, barkeep! Another round for the 11's and their two girlfriends!" The man ordered as he headed to the opposite end of the bar to pay his tab.

Sakura dropped the barstool on the floor before facing the bar again. Only this time, she was greeted by the stunned looks on her friends faces.

"What?" Sakura asked.

"Sakura-chan...?" Naruto said in awe.

"What?" Sakura asked again.

"Damn girl. Someone's tapping into their inner chakra." Ino said.

"My what? Chakra? What do you mean?" Sakura asked in confusion.

"Sakura, don't play dumb. You know just as well as I do what chakra is."

"I know what Chakra is, But-"

"Just look at the barstool you turned into a pretzel." Ino pointed out.

Sakura looked down and finally noticed her handiwork. She gasped. Buried deep within every living relative of the great ninja clans were the shallowest pools of chakra, diluted over many generations of breeding with regular civilians. Coupled with the 7th Hokage's policies of peace, the need for ninjas had faded away, as had ninjutsu and the need for chakra. That wasn't to say that no one had chakra anymore. just that it was so uncommon and so sporadic, that it was no longer a viable option in the armed forces. On the flip side, that meant that every now and again, you would catch a predecessor of ninjas accidentally performing some incredible feat of strength and stamina.

"I...Did that...?" Sakura breathed out in shock.

"You did." Kiba agreed. "Christ, Sakura. Where were you when we needed to bust open that tank and were short of TNT? You could have just pried the metal hinge open and saved us 6 hours of grenades and beating on it with the butt of our guns."

"I...Didn't even realize..." Sakura said shakily as she looked at her hands. Her eyes went wide when she could see a glowing green light slowly fading away.

"Sage of Six Paths, Sakura-chan."

Sakura looked over at Naruto who was in the same amount of shock she was in. "Is...This normal..?" She asked in general.

"Sakura, you know it is. Although I've never heard of people's hands glowing green. Usually they just get their feet stuck on the sides of walls." Ino said.

"Well, her ancestor is the great Sakura Haruno who was trained by one of the legendary Sannin." Lee said.

"Well...That hasn't been proven..." Sakura tried to deny.

"What more proof do you need? Your hand just glowed like the medical ninjas of old." Choji pointed out.

"This calls for a celebration." Kiba declared as he took up that one guy's offer for a free round.

"Wait a minute..." Ino said. "That would mean...You have the potential to unlock the Uchiha clans bloodline technique."

"Wait, you mean the Sharingan? Ino, please...There hasn't been a case of the Sharingan since the 12th Hokage." Sakura shrugged off.

"That Mirror Wheel thing?" Choji asked. "Good luck putting it to use. Our modern armies don't enlist women."

"That could easily change." Naruto said.

"No, it couldn't." Kiba said.

"Well, whatever. I don't want to fight in the war anyway." Sakura said seriously.

"That makes two of us." All four boys said at once.

"Well now that that's out of the way..." Ino said before heading over to the jukebox.

The music started playing loudly and Ino skipped back to the bar.

"Now let's party!" She shouted gleefully.

* * *

All the way up to 3 AM, the group had done the impossible. They had completely partied out. There was singing, drinking, darts, pool, drinking, a couple of guys made out with Ino but nobody could remember who, drinking, stealing Lee's car keys back, crashing Lee's car into a pond, an apology round of drinks from Kiba, getting Choji a tattoo, Ino making out with Sakura (which everyone would remember), and finally...well no one was clear on the specifics, everyone clearly remembered them being in a dark and smokey gambling hall playing high stakes poker with card sharks. All Sakura knew for certain is that Naruto had to stab one of the card sharks' hand into the table while the rest of the group fled out the back door. Finally they found themselves in one last bar at 3 AM.

"CLOSING TIME!" The boys all sang. "ONE LAS SHOT FER AL-CO-HOL and we're WASTIN' TIIIME!"

They all downed one last shot together to end the night on a high note before paying their tabs.

"Thank Christ our parents are rich." Kiba said as he threw down his mother's credit card. His army payment didn't amount to shit.

"I LIKE PIE!" Sakura shouted as she wobbled around. She was so in the bag that she was leaning on both Naruto and Ino.

"Oh man, she's regressed back to her five-year-old self." Ino groaned, being the soberest one of the bunch.

"I'll give you a hand." Naruto offered.

"No, no, I got it. You ought to get back home. Your parents are probably worried sick." Ino said, trusting Naruto, but knowing full well what two blasted 20 somethings would do if they went to bed together. And as hypocritical as it may sound, she knew Sakura would want to be sober for her first time.

"Come on. I can't let two drunk girls walk home alone. Something might happen." Naruto said while trying in vain to balance on his own two feet.

"Fine, but you are taking the couch." Ino said.

"Ggggguuuyyyys, guys, guys, guys..." Sakura hissed.

"What's up?" Ino asked.

"You two should dooooo it..." Sakura giggled.

"Uh...well...I don't think so." Ino said, Naruto agreeing.

"No, no, shut up, now listen..." Sakura held up her finger to Ino's lips. "You're both blond, right?"

"And? I'm not into Naruto like that. No offence." Ino said.

"None taken. Neither am I honestly." Naruto slurred.

"No, shut up, you could do it, and then have babies, and they'd all be blond, and then, and then you could have a master race of blinds, I mean blonds." Sakura deduced.

Ino and Naruto blushed hard.

"S-shut up, forehead. You're drunk." Ino said.

"And you're a slut. Go sleep with a man whose worth it." Sakura slurred, gesturing over to Naruto.

"Oh yea? Then how about you sleep with Naruto? Miss virgin." Ino shot back.

"Well maybe I will...UURRRP!" Sakura belched.

"Now wait a minute...don't I get a say in this?" Naruto asked.

"You're a guy. Be happy that you're even included in sex." Ino snapped.

"Well, I mean..."

"Come on Na-ru-tooo...are you scared of meeee?" Sakura slurred while swaying around a little.

"I'm not scared." Naruto said.

"Nah, you're so scared of talking to me. That you won't even talk to me." Sakura slurred.

That hit a tender nerve with Naruto. "Sakura...there is a reason for that." Naruto said quietly.

"Yeah, yeah, you went to war. Everybody went to war. What do ya want, a freaking medal?" Sakura slurred.

"Sakura...stop it." Ino scolded.

Sakura pouted, but it was clear she didn't know what was going on.

"I think I actually am getting a medal." Naruto said to try and change the subject.

"Well that's cool. Seriously, congrats." Ino smiled.

"Yeah thanks. Doesn't seem like that big of a deal. I just did what everyone did." Naruto said.

"Knowing you, you probably did far more."

Naruto blew air out of his cheeks. "Please, you didn't see Choji holding off an advancing Pitter Patter line with only a machine gun while the rest of us ran back to camp to scrounge for ammo. Or Shikamaru leading a fire team around the enemies to capture their own food rations and bring it back to us. Or Neji picking off those three snipers that kept us pinned for two days. Or Lee running back and forth from the line to base camp through artillery fire, grabbing us boots, scissors, fresh bandages, whatever we needed to keep fighting." Naruto said.

"Damn..." Ino breathed out as the cool early morning air hit them.

She kicked up some snow that was still remaining from the last blizzard. Winter always hit hard in the Land of Fire, especially in the north, and always seemed to vanish just as quickly. Some old wives tales said it was because when the God of Fire gave the Fire Daimyo's sovereignty over this vast territory, the Fire God chased winter away so that the peasants could grow more crops to offer to the Gods.

Finally the trio arrived in front of the Uchiha residence.

"Ino...do you think you can handle it from here? I wanna go sleep in my own bed for once." Naruto said.

"Oh yeah, no problem. You sure you can make it home on your own?"

"I'm fine. I have a high tolerance for alcohol as you know."

"Yeah, you certainly haven't lost your touch." Ino giggled.

"Yea...anyway, make sure Sakura-chan gets to bed." Naruto said before he started to walk away. "And...tell her when she wakes up that...I'm sorry...sorry for being so distant. I just have a lot on my mind."

"I will. Don't worry about it. Just get to bed. I've got a feeling that you're about to face the mother of all hangovers." Ino predicted.

"I don't really have hangovers." Naruto called out. "But I know Sakura-chan will."

"Yeah, that'll be fun to wake up to. Good night, Naruto!" Ino waved.

"See ya later." Naruto waved back.

"I-I'm...gonna puke..." Sakura slurred.

"Not on me, you're not. Come on, Forehead." Ino said as she dragged her friend to the front porch.

The girls stumbled inside the house and as soon as the door was safely closed behind them did Naruto feel comfortable heading home himself.

The walk to the Hokage mansion was long and sobering. The freezing winter air keeping the soldier from slipping into deep thoughts. Every time he tried the cool wind would nip his cheeks. It felt so refreshing to not have to think. Just to focus on remembering the directions to his house. Just put one foot in front of the other. One foot in front of the other. One foot...

 _'In front of the other! One foot in front of the other!'_ Naruto thought frantically to himself as he double timed it through the woods. All around him he could hear the sounds of gun fire and cannons going off all around him. Dog Company had reported heavy losses on their left flank. A tank had broken through and was wreaking havoc on the boys. They had run out of bazooka rounds and we're playing a deadly game of whack-a-mole with an enemy tank. The structure of command had long ago broke down and all anyone could do was send men where needed along the front. Naruto had to sprint a mile west of his unit's position and send a rocket launcher right up the enemy tank's ass.

The cold air felt like needles in his lungs, his muscles screamed, every single part of him hurt. The higher part of his brain wanted to stop and rest, but that part was no longer in control. He was no longer a man, he was a tool, a weapon of the Leaf Military Force to be used against their enemies.

There, he saw it, a Panzer Tank, gleefully dancing inside the middle of Dog Company's trenches. Naruto didn't know it, but the men of that Panzer in particular had gone mad with battle frenzy too. A week of constant fighting left them craving blood, the blood of those bastards on the other side of the open plains who had harassed them day and night with mortars and machine gun fire.

Now they were taking revenge. Who cared about breaking through the line and taking the primary objectives? This was war and they were there to kill their enemies.

Naruto fell to his knees and readied the bazooka. He hastily shoved the anti-tank round down the shaft. Machine gun fire raped another poor soul trying to run from one trench to another with better cover.

Naruto aimed his bazooka, he pulled the trigger, and it misfired. Frantically, Naruto worked on removing the dud round from the chamber just as the tank pilot noticed one blond haired G.I. with a rocket launcher. He turned his tank around, the treads ripping up the froze dirt trapped beneath the January snow. Naruto carefully slid the dud round out of the bazooka chamber and reached behind himself for his ammo pack with the spare round. The Panzer took aim with the main gun, wanting to have fun with the foolish little Ranger. He fired and the tree next to Naruto exploded, knocking the man forward on his hands and knees.

Naruto winced as his palms hit the snow like pavement. He blinked. His heart racing. He looked up and the tank was gone. All the trees were gone too. As was Dog Company. Instead, all there was were decorative iron gates keeping any passerby from entering. Looking beyond the gates Naruto could see a resplendently designed mansion sitting atop a pristine hill. He was home.

He could see on the stairs was his father carving a stick. What he was doing out so late was anyone's guess.

Naruto carefully picked himself up and pushed open the gates. Their loud creaking sound made his father look up from his work and see his son walking the long walkway up to the house.

"Naruto? Everything okay, son?" Minato asked.

"I'm..." Naruto said as he began to regain control of his breathing. "I'm okay... I'm home."

Minato was skeptical of his sons claim. Especially when he saw him trying to shoot at nothing with nothing in his hands.

"I think you should come inside. Your mother will want to see you." Minato said, offering his hand to his son.

"I just wanna go to bed if it's all the same..." Naruto said.

"I actually think it would be good if you spoke to her beforehand. She has something she wants to tell you." Minato insisted.

Naruto just sighed. "Alright, fine..."

"She's in the living room. Resting on the couch. Your stuff should be in your room." Minato said.

"Okay. Thanks."

Minato unlocked the front door and let his son enter the house. A dazzling chandelier hanging above him greeted him upon arrival. He took his ratty old boots off and let his bare feet touch the wooden floor. The soles of his feet were covered in aches and scars where blisters kept reforming. Yet the cool wooden panels felt so nice beneath his toes he couldn't help but let out a sigh.

"Man does that feel good..." Naruto sighed in content.

"Glad to be home?" Minato asked as he lay his hand upon his son's shoulder. Naruto jumped at the sudden touch and withdrew his trench knife. He spun around and aimed it at his father who just caught his wrist, the blade mere centimeters from his neck.

"Glad to see you remember your basic training. Although I could have sworn you were supposed to turn in all your weapons to the armory before entering the city." Minato smiled, trying to laugh off the whole situation.

The look of fury on Naruto's face was replaced with terrifying fear when he realized what he had almost done. The next sound they heard was the metal blade hitting the floor. Minato then noticed that it was the knife he had given Naruto that had been in their family for generations.

"Ah, of course you wouldn't give that one up." Minato said as he carefully picked up the three-pronged kunai with the inscription written on the side meant to be ninjutsu seal of some kind. Historians claimed that this kunai was once used by the 4th Hokage to teleport, the man Minato happened to be named after. It had been passed down from father to son, from one clan to the next. More often than not falling into the hands of the man or woman who would become Hokage. Such as the 7th Hokage, who was the son of the 4th; and then to the 9th Hokage, the 7th's daughter-in-law and the first Uchiha to be granted the title of Hokage. From the 14th Hokage onward, the kunai seemed to lose its power, or more accurately, those who could wield it fell out of favor to those who could lead through diplomacy and trade. Yet the kunai still retained its almost mystical charm of falling into the hands of those who would one day lead the Leaf and lead it well.

In the present day, it had fallen into the hands of Kushina's revitalized Uzumaki clan and she had gifted it to Minato on their wedding day. Sure enough, that very month the 24th Hokage of the Leaf made the surprise announcement that he was retiring and named Minato as his successor. Then nine months to the day of Minato's inauguration, the Leaf welcomed its newest First Son; Naruto Namikaze Uzumaki.

Naruto started visibly shaking and hyperventilating. He had almost killed his own father with their family heirloom.

"Calm down, son. It's alright..." Minato said softly.

Naruto reached out his hands and tried to hug his father.

"Breath son, just breath." Minato ordered. It took a few moments, but Naruto finally regained control of himself, but not without making a fuss in the hallway.

"Is that Naruto?" He heard a soft voice call out. He turned to see his mother rushing down the stairs to greet him. Her mid length and vibrant red hair flowing as she ran.

"Naruto?" She called out again, like she couldn't believe what was right in front of her. She looked terribly distraught like she had spent all night waiting for her son to return, which of course she had.

Naruto gulped back his fears and stood up straight. "Mother..." He said softly, praying that this wouldn't turn into another big scene.

Kushina looked hurt for being so formally called mother instead of mom or mama. The earlier outburst the two of them had shared back in the Uchiha household didn't help matters either.

"Mother, listen..." Naruto tried to speak, but Kushina cut him off.

"Before you say anything I need to say something first. I am so sorry for shouting at you earlier. I just...I hadn't seen you in months. I don't know what came over me. Seeing you in those clothes, all banged up, you looked like a completely different person. I don't know what I was thinking, I just wanted to see my baby again and to know that your safe. I don't want to finally see you again and have us both be angry so can we please just forget about earlier and I can hug you and tuck you into bed and then make you ramen for breakfast in the morning?" Kushina begged with mom level puppy dog eyes, the most resolve shattering gaze known to man.

"Mom..." Naruto said, acting embarrassed.

"Please, Naruto, please..." She begged, wanting nothing more than to be forgiven. "You were right, I overreacted. I just want to know my baby boy is safe." She cried.

"Alright mom...It's okay..." Naruto said before hugging his mother.

"Is that Naruto?" He heard another soft voice call out. He turned to see his 14-year-old sister Karin rushing down the stairs to greet him. Her mid length and vibrant red hair flowing as she ran.

"Hey sis." Naruto greeted by untangling his arm from his mother to wave at his sister.

She looked at him and immediately joined in the hug by glomping both Naruto and Kushina, nearly knocking them over.

"Idiot! You had mom worried sick and therefore made me be worried sick!" Karin cried out.

"Easy there, Karin. Naruto has been through a lot this past year." Minato chuckled.

"You think I haven't? Mom spends all day listening to the news, Dad's always at work, and Konohamaru keeps nagging at me to write you letters on his behalf! Nobody cares how I feel!" Karin whined, making Naruto chuckle.

"I missed you too, sis." Naruto said as he messed up her hair. Karin just pouted instead of slapping away her brother's hand like she always would.

"Did you ask Sakura out yet?" Karin asked, catching Naruto completely off guard.

"Wha- When have I ever asked Sakura-chan out?" Naruto cried, turning back into the annoyed older brother.

"I don't know. How many times have you been rejected?" Karin asked, making every burn doctor in the Leaf sit up awake in their beds.

"Okay, as much as I would love this family bonding time, I would much rather go to bed and catch up tomorrow morning." Naruto said as he tried to slip out of his loving family's grip. "Or afternoon. Whenever it is that I wake up."

"Did you want something to eat first?" Kushina asked.

"No thank you. I'm... pretty sure I had something solid to eat since Itachi's ramen." Naruto said.

"Well...Okay then. What would you like for breakfast?"

"Anything made by you in great quantities would be amazing." Naruto said.

"Then I'll cook us up a breakfast feast. All of us." Kushina declared.

"That would be awesome." Naruto yawned.

"What about me? Don't I have to go to school tomorrow?" Karin asked.

"Of course not. We're taking a family day off tomorrow. So that means no school." Kushina declared.

"Sweet! Thanks mom!" Karin squealed with joy.

Kushina smiled and then looked at Naruto, whom she had just made plans for. Naruto looked at her and realized she needed this just as bad as he did.

"A family day off sounds great." Naruto stated. God knows he could let his liver rest.

"Good. Now all of you get to bed." Kushina ordered.

"Yes mom." Naruto and Karin said in sync. The two marched upstairs while Kushina and Minato remained.

"I'm gonna have to order another psych eval for our boy..." Minato said softly.

"What are you talking about? Our son isn't crazy." Kushina hissed, offended by the very notion.

"No...But he's showing strong signs of PTSD. Outside I saw him trying to shoot things that weren't there with nothing in his hands and just a few moments ago when I put my hand on his shoulder he almost slit my throat. I thought that was just a reflex, but the look of fury and hatred on his face and then the look of horror afterwards told me otherwise..."

Kushina covered her mouth to try and hide the look of horror on her own face. Her eyes snapped up the stairs where her first born son was getting ready for bed. "It can't be. It just can't. He's tired. That's all he is. Some good night's sleep and several real meals and he will be back to normal. You'll see." Kushina declared.

"I hope you're right...I really do..." Minato sighed with a heavy heart. In reality, he had seen many a man with the same symptoms and it never really mended in those men. He hoped that his own flesh and blood wouldn't have to go through the same pain.

After brushing his teeth and finally changing out of his nasty skivvies into a fresh pair of his own civilian boxers, Naruto went to bed. He turned on the light to his room and by God, everything was exactly the same as when he'd left it. Posters from all the baseball players Naruto liked, a few movie posters he had seen, a desk for schoolwork, some books, his catcher's mitt and baseball bat, some knick knacks from the rare family vacations or gifts from foreign diplomats to appease Naruto's father through him, and there in the middle of it all was Naruto's queen sized bed. He pulled back the covers and sure enough the maid had put on fresh winter sheets. Naruto gave a soft smile knowing that he would finally be sleeping in his own bed. Warm and safe.

Naruto crawled underneath the covers and fell asleep before his head hit the pillow.

* * *

Back at the Uchiha residence, Ino was currently holding Sakura's hair back while the latter was vomiting her guts out in the toilet.

"Sigh...I told you to take it easy, Forehead..." Ino sighed as Sakura hocked one last was of bile into the toilet.

"Okay, you're right, you did, I'm sorry." Sakura begged, praying that confessing her sins would placate the god of alcohol poisoning.

"You done ralphing or do I need to prepare for round 2?" Ino asked sarcastically.

"I think so. I have no more food left in my body. I have nothing left to give." Sakura whined as she hugged her porcelain friend.

"Good to hear. Now, let's get you cleaned up." Ino said as she helped Sakura to sit on her butt.

"Ino...Do you think...Naruto and I have a chance...Together?" Sakura asked as Ino was wetting a wash cloth, who suddenly stopped upon hearing that.

"Well that was out of the blue. What made you say or even think that all of a sudden?" Ino asked in mild shock.

"I don't know. You know how I always used to reject his offers for dates, right?"

"Yea it was a normal thing." Ino said before bringing out the cloth.

"Maybe...I should take him up on his offer."

"Really? Just like that?" Ino asked as she handed Sakura the wet cloth.

"Well no. Not just like that. It's just...when I saw Naruto for the first time...he looked, I don't know, handsome?" Sakura said, not know the right way to put this.

"True...He has gotten that air about him recently." Ino agreed.

"Right? And the way he talks. He's so serious now, but I can feel so much pain coming off of him. I just want to take away that pain for him. Get back to the old Naruto." Sakura said.

"Wait, I thought you didn't like the old Naruto. Hence all the rejected dates." Ino pointed out.

"Well Naruto was always sweet. And awkward. Almost to the point of being dorky. I think I want him to be somewhere in the middle ground." Sakura admitted with a blush. "Is that selfish of me?"

Ino just smiled. "Not at all." She said before sighing. "But I agree. Something about this war messed with his melon...Honestly, I don't like seeing him like this."

"Neither do I. He's Naruto. He's supposed to be cracking lame jokes, pulling pranks, eating junk food, smiling that big stupid grin of his..." Sakura said as she imagined the last time she saw it. One year ago when Naruto and Sasuke were about to leave for training and Naruto promised her that he would keep Sasuke safe and win the entire war so that they could all come home. The memory of that ear to ear grin made her smile too.

"I guess you really don't know what you have until you lose it." Ino said.

Then the realization hit Sakura like a ton of bricks. "Wait a minute. That's it!"

"What's it?"

"A year ago, Naruto made me a promise that he would keep Sasuke safe. But when he was killed, he feels like he broke that promise. That's why he won't even look at me!"

"Um, are you sure about that?" Ino asked.

"100% sure. If I know Naruto, he is blaming himself that Sasuke is dead and that he feels like he broke that promise to me. That's why he's in such a funk."

"Sweet Sage you sobered up quick." Ino pointed out.

"Heh, sober or not, I'm still the smartest person you know." Sakura smirked.

"Excluding Shikamaru, and I hate to burst your bubble, but I think you're simplifying this too much." Ino stated.

"Well it's either that or he's got PTSD. Which I kinda picked up on that almost immediately. But I'm sure this has a lot to do with it."

"Sakura, you might be the physical health genius, but don't forget, I am the mental health genius." Ino reminded her. "It's never just one thing."

"Trust me on this...You know my gut feelings are usually right and my gut is screaming to me that this is what's causing his funk."

"Either that, or your gut is screaming at you because you drank too much." Ino snickered.

"Eat me." Sakura said as she was suddenly hit with a wave of nausea.

"Uh oh...HAIR!" Sakura yelled before she reached for the toilet.

Ino grabbed her friend's hair and watched her dry heave into the toilet some more.

* * *

 **Author's Note from Panda: And just like that, we're done with chapter 1 of our Valentine's Day Special. As previously stated, these chapters are raw and written back to back. So, expect a few mistakes as well as super fast updates. Like, one per day. Please review to tell us what you think. Point out any inconsistencies we may have written.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note from Panda: And now we immediately pick up from where we left off with ch1. To the point that we probably should have just kept them all together in one giant 60k chapter instead of 3. But I digress.**

 **Enjoy.**

* * *

One by one, before the dawn broke, everyone managed to fall asleep. The winds of winter finally broke their stride and with the rising morning sun, the temperature began to rise over 32 degrees.

For those soldiers of 11th Division unlucky enough not to have a place to sleep the night they returned to the Leaf, they had been set up in the city's stadium by the Military Police. Said MP's were currently getting ready to pull a prank on the poor sleeping soldiers worthy of the son of the 25th Hokage. Involving loudspeakers and bugle.

As for the rest of the men of the Leaf Army's 11th Division, they all awoke to...less than pleasing circumstances.

In the 5 star hotel room that the two lovers were staying at, Shikamaru awoke feeling more sore than when he had come back from battle. He was also completely naked, his wrists bound to the bed frame with leather straps than Shikamaru couldn't remember when Temari had brought them in, and his mouth was sealed shut by a makeshift gag of panties and a re-purposed pillowcase.

 _'God damn it. She didn't untie me last night.'_ Shikamaru thought, as he tried to suckle in some moisture back into his dry mouth.

The door opened and in walked Temari wearing a skimpy bathrobe and carrying two trays of breakfast sandwiches.

"Morning." She chirped, looking as bright as a summer morning.

"Mmmm." Shikamaru moaned through his gag. Temari giggled as she placed one tray on the bed and freed her lover's mouth.

"Ugh, morning. You uh...kinda left me tied up." Shikamaru greeted.

"Yeah, sorry about that, kinda. You were just so cute when you passed out." Temari said as she sat down next to him on the bed and crossed her beautifully smooth legs.

"Oh God, please tell me you didn't walk around the lobby in that." Shikamaru said, his eyes tracing up and down her figure while his arms remain frustratingly bound.

"Why? Jealous someone else might see?" Temari teased as she booped Shikamaru on the nose.

"Maybe." Shikamaru said.

"And what would you say if I offered to screw the bellhop right in front of you if he agreed to give me these sandwiches meant for the bitchy couple in the next room over?" Temari said as she held up the croissant, egg, ham, and cheese breakfast sandwiches.

"Why in the hell would you do that?!" Shikamaru exclaimed.

"To get a rise out of you." Temari smirked, letting her fingers walk up her lover's defenseless thigh, coming dangerously close to his third leg. Shikamaru struggled furiously against his restraints, but Temari was never one to skimp on purchasing quality leather goods.

Temari smirked as she leaned ever so close to Shikamaru's twitching manhood, he could feel her breath on his taint. "But mostly I just did it because I was hungry." She said before taking a great big bite of her breakfast sandwich.

Shikamaru just stared at her, trying to keep on an angry scowl while his erecting stood very firmly between his face and Temari's.

"Oh come on, Little Boy, you don't honestly think I'm going to screw the bellhop, do you?" Temari asked.

Shikamaru smirked. "Maybe if the bellhop was a chick I'd think about it."

"In your dreams." Temari snorted. "No, he was a young man. A young, strapping man." She swooned dramatically.

"I think you're acting too much like Ino."

"Oh please. Number one, she goes out with any guy with a car or broad shoulders. And number two, I was kidding again. The bellhop was a skinny little twerp. Or would that make it harder for you? Watching me do a strong man, or a pasty dork that a battle-hardened Army man like you could rip in two?" Temari asked.

"I think you doing it with any guy but me would be hard to not only imagine but watch."

"Yes, I can definitely see how 'it' would be hard for you." She said, poking him right on the shaft.

"Do you ever plan on untying me?" Shikamaru asked, straining against the leather straps.

"Maybe..." Temari cooed. "Or maybe I wanna tease and torture you..."

"Yeah, I figured that much when you broke out the riding crop." Shikamaru smirked, remembering the matching corset that came with it.

"You're only going to be here a week." Temari smirked before undoing her robe and letting it fall on the floor. "And I intend to make use of that time..."

"Oh man, what if the MP's or your brothers come looking for me?" Shikamaru laughed, figuring that he would fight anyone who tried to drag him away from his love.

"Let them look. I've got this room under an assumed name. How does Mister and Misses Naga sound?" Temari asked as she positioned herself right over Shikamaru on all fours.

"Pretty good. Although I think we can work on that name."

"Yeah?" Temari moaned as she leaned into him to wrap her lips around his.

"I like the sound of Mister and Misses Nara better." Temari smiled as she deepened her kiss with the restrained man.

* * *

Meanwhile, the rest of Shikamaru's squad were waking up to less pleasant conditions.

Kiba for instance woke up to the absolute worst hangover he had ever felt.

"Uuuuuuugh..." He groaned before feeling his actual headache. "Ow...ow...OW!" He whined, feeling his head pounding like the inside of a drum.

"Hey, buddy." A woman's voice asked him from the other side of the room. She was a pretty little thing with big poofy hair and a red cocktail dress. "You mind paying me? I need to get back to my boyfriend."

"Pay you? The Hell...?" Kiba rubbed his face. "I thought you were looking to party?"

"Yeah. For money." The girl said.

Kiba fell back into his pillow. "Oh my Sage you are a prostitute."

"Yeah, duh." The girl stated.

 _'My mom is gonna kill me.'_ Kiba thought.

* * *

Back in the Akimichi compound, Choji was having a similar conversation.

"You want how much? Ow!" Choji cried as he clutched his temples to keep his head from splitting open.

"5,000 Ryo." The girl said calmly.

"God damn it, Kiba." Choji cursed under his breath.

* * *

Meanwhile with Lee, he was actually have a pleasant morning.

A beautiful girl with chocolate brown hair was handing him stacks of hundred Ryo bills.

"Um, are you sure about this?" Lee asked the lady.

"Why wouldn't I be? You gave me the best fuck I could ever hope for!"

"Yeah, but aren't you a... lady of the evening? You still take money for sex." Lee said, a little embarrassed.

"Aw, aren't you sweet." The woman smirked as she pulled out a card from her purse. "Here, take my card. Give me a call if you need to work off anymore "stress."" She winked. "I'll give you another freebie if you pull off last night's expectations."

Lee took the card and the girl (whose name on the card was Candi) patted him on the cheek. She then turned around and exited the motel room, giving Lee a cute little wave before disappearing behind the door.

"Huh...Well that was odd..." Lee thought out loud. "She was definitely cute though."

* * *

Back in the Uchiha compound, Ino and Sakura were busy recovering in the kitchen while Ino talked to her mother on the phone.

"Mom, seriously, I just crashed at Sakura's place for the evening. Nothing happened." Ino sighed in exhaustion.

"Ugh...Stop talking..." Sakura groaned. By far, she had the worst hangover she ever had.

"Oh my God, Mom, no. Itachi is not like that at all. You know him." Ino exclaimed.

"Ino, seriously, shut up..." Sakura groaned as she clamped her hands over her ears.

"I gotta go, mom. Sakura is still working off her hangover." Ino said into the phone. "Uh huh...yeah...I'll definitely be home tonight... Love you too."

Ino hung up the phone with a clunk that sounded like a hammer to the head for Sakura.

"Ahhh...Enough with the noise..." Sakura groaned.

"Oh please, like you're the only one working off a hangover." Ino said as she sat back down to enjoy Itachi's famous kippers and eggs. Neither of them knew what a kipper was, but it was damn good.

"So do you intend to stick to your plan?" Ino asked.

"Plan? What plan?" Sakura asked.

"You know...What you talked about last night. About Naruto."

"Oh that...Well...Not today I'm not."

"And why not?"

"Because I've got a headache from Hell, that's why..."

"And don't you have work today?" Ino pointed out, just remembering that she herself also had work.

Sakura thought for a moment and then slammed her head against the table. "Fuck! Ow!" She cried.

Ino snickered. "That wasn't too smart."

"Oh shut up!" Sakura snapped. "Great, I totally fucking forgot about work...now what am I gonna do?"

"I told you to take it easy last night..." Ino sighed.

"Ugh...sometimes I wish I was trained by the 5th Hokage...then I wouldn't have to worry about this shit..."

Then Ino thought about something. "Who's to say you can't learn the same skills she knew?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you tapped into your hidden Chakra last night. I'm sure you could find Tsunade's medical scrolls and books and learn from them."

"Probably, but that doesn't exactly help me with my current problem."

"Oh just take some Advil and you'll be fine." Ino waved off.

"Urgh." Sakura groaned as she picked herself off the kitchen table and headed upstairs to the medicine cabinet. Just then the phone rang.

"Ow." Sakura said as she walked past the phone.

"I got it." Ino said as she went to pick up the phone. "Uchiha residence...um, she's in the bathroom, this is Ino...yes...yes, I understand...yes I'll let her know as soon as she's done...alright, see you soon." she hung up the phone and began to call out to Sakura. "Hey Forehead!"

"Pig! Lower your voice! What is it?"

"Tsunade is raising Hell asking where are you." Ino said.

"Oh Gooooood..." Sakura groaned.

* * *

Meanwhile, at the hospital, Dr. Tsunade Senju was standing over an increasingly nervous little nurse, tapping her fingers and muttering to herself.

"I'm going to tan her hide." Tsunade said. "That's what I'll do. One of my best trained doctors and a prodigy at that and she thinks she can be late when we have all these new patients coming in? Oh no, there is gonna be Hell to pay. I'll whip her so hard that her grandchildren will be born with sore asses."

"Um, Dr. Senju? Are you sure that is appropriate?" The new nurse squeaked.

"I will decide what's appropriate!" Tsunade snapped.

"Eeep!" The mice like girl squeaked.

"Sakura has been under my employment and training since she was 15 years old, young lady. She is just like her great great great grandmother. She has amazing talent and skill...I just wish she had the same punctuality as her ancestor..."

"Wait, Ma'am?" The nurse asked, thinking she heard something odd.

"Why aren't you calling Sakura's house again?" Tsunade snapped.

The nurse retracted back into her seat and dialed the number.

"And where the Hell is that nurse Hinata?" Tsunade barked.

* * *

While Dr. Senju was shouting this, a hundred miles north of the Leaf village. Nurse Hinata Hyuga was sitting quietly in the back of a Double Deuce supply trunk headed for the Army Hospital where Shino was being kept under intensive care. Yesterday, without telling her friends, she had requested sick leave from work and went home to pack her bags. She then spent all evening trying to secure passage north into what was technically a hot zone. It wasn't until morning that she secured her ride. A sympathetic supply officer who just so happened to have an empty seat in his truck for a few week's salary. And so it was that the ever shy Hinata came to be sneaking off to see her injured friend.

Back at the hospital, Sakura and Ino were just arriving in Sakura's red 39 Studebaker.

"Thanks for the ride, Ino." Sakura shouted as she leapt out of the car.

"No problem. Good luck with Tsunade. Hopefully she's not too pissed off."

"Hopefully peace was declared last night and someone figured out the cure for cancer." Sakura sarcastically replied.

"Yea well...just take what she says with a grain of salt. Anyway, I gotta get to work before my dad has a cow."

"Yeah, good luck with your patients." Sakura said, knowing the kind of Saint like patience it took for anybody to work in a mental hospital.

"Same with yours. Chow!" Ino waved as she sped off to face the wrath of her boss. Sakura then turned to the hospital where she would soon face the wrath of hers.

"This...is gonna suck..." Sakura sighed before she started to walk inside.

Once inside it was business as usual. Nurses and doctors running up and down the halls, beds filled with mangled men were pushed to and from their rooms, distraught families stood in line behind the receptionist praying to learn the fate of their sons.

"You're late." A dark shadow loomed over the young pink haired doctor.

Sakura gulped and slowly turned to face her boss. "H-hello...Dr. Tsunade..."

"Hello, Dr. Uchiha. Did you have fun last night?" Tsunade asked, giving Sakura one of her famous sickly sweet smiles that Sakura knew from experience had to be a trap.

"Um...more or less...I was helping Naruto and... I was...grieving."

"Grieving?" Tsunade raised an eyebrow and her eyes instantly lit up with understanding. It wasn't a surprise to Sakura. Dr. Senju had an extraordinary knack for perception. She had been around the block. She could tell what was troubling Sakura just from a few words and body language.

"Oh Sakura..." Tsunade said before wrapping Sakura up in a gentle hug. Sakura's eyes went wide when her head was pressed against her mentor's provocatively large bosom. Whatever kind of reaction Sakura was expecting from Tsunade, it wasn't that.

"I am so sorry to hear that..."

"I-it was Sasuke...he didn't make it home..." Sakura choked out.

"I know, dear, I know..." Tsunade rubbed Sakura's back as a mother would to her daughter. Making all the men and women who worked with the two women stop and stare at the older one's rarely seen gentle nature.

After a few peaceful moments when Sakura stopped crying, Tsunade pushed Sakura out to arm's length away.

"I know you're hurting right now. But I need my star pupil with me here today. To stop more families from feeling the grief you are feeling right now. Can I count on you?"

"Yes...I need to set my mind on other things..." Sakura sniffed.

"Atta girl." Tsunade patted Sakura on the shoulder and turned back to grab a stack of folders. Sakura wiped away the remaining tear in her eye and was immediately shoved with a stack of clip board half as tall as she was.

"These are for all the patients I want you to do a check up on today. Mostly just casualties from the front, but a few civilians are in there." Tsunade said as she reached back for more things.

"Um." Sakura stuttered before feeling more folders being stacked on top of her pile.

"These are the surgeries you will be assisting me with today. I've scheduled them for every other hour, do that should give you just enough time to work on your check-ups in between." Tsunade said as she reached back a third time.

"And here are the surgeries that you will be performing solo. Mostly minor things, so I've scheduled them to be back to back, one every 15 minutes at 1 PM. So long as nothing major comes up, you should get this all done by 9. Oh, and don't plan on having lunch today." Tsunade finished as she stacked the last of the papers onto Sakura's arms, now her pile was stacked over Sakura's head.

Sakura sighed heavily. _'Fuck my life...'_

"Oh, and expect patients from the free clinic to come spilling out later on. We've had a hundred cases of alcohol sickness reported earlier this morning. If they keep coming in, get ready to treat them however you can. Just get them out of the hospital quickly." Tsunade ordered before patting Sakura on the shoulder and leaving to attend to other matters required of the Head Medic.

"Why me..." Sakura sighed before getting to work.

* * *

Meanwhile, back at the Hokage Mansion, Naruto had finally dragged himself out of bed and was enjoying a huge family breakfast.

"Hungry, are we?" Kushina smiled.

Naruto was currently stuffing his face full of pork ramen, plus sausage, eggs, toast, crispy bacon, baked beans, hash browns, whole strawberries, glasses of orange juice and a big pot of coffee. The boy acted like he had never tried food before.

"I would take that as a yes." Minato chuckled. "Military rations are horrible. I remember that much."

"Mmmmhmmm." Naruto agreed, remembering all the nights he got his meals from tiny tin cans like dog food.

"Geez, did you forget your manners while you were away?" Karin whined at Naruto and all his food bits spilled onto the table. Naruto responded maturely by flinging a grape at his sister's head.

"Ah, MOM!" Karin shrieked.

"Naruto!" Kushina shouted.

"Sorry, mom." Naruto smirked as he stuck out his tongue at Karin.

"Just like old times." Minato chuckled.

"Yeah." Kushina smiled while Karin just pouted. That's when the family's grandfather clock went off, indicating that it was 9 o clock.

Minato signed. "Damn, I need to get to work."

"Aw, come on dad. can't you take the day off?" Karin pouted.

"I wish, sweetie. But I've got half a dozen staff members whose sons came home yesterday and they aren't taking the day off. Therefore I can't in good conscious take the day off either." Minato explained, his voice showing his true and honest regret.

"Aww..." Karin whined.

Naruto just ruffled her hair. "Don't sweat it, squirt. the 3 of us can do something together."

"Hmpf, I wanted to hang out with Dad." Karin pouted, not wanting to let on that she was ecstatic to hang out with her brother again after so long.

"Well how about once I get home this evening we can all see a movie together?" Minato compromised.

"Hey, now there's an idea." Kushina agreed.

"What's playing these days?" Naruto asked.

"Ah, let me check." Minato said as he opened the paper. "Arabian Nights, Casablanca, Bambi (I don't know if you kids are too old to watch a cartoon)..." Minato listed off.

"Arabian nights sounds good." Naruto said.

"Karin, that sound good to you?" Minato asked, not wanting his daughter to feel left out.

"Sure." Karin shrugged.

"Great. Then we'll all meet back here at 7 and go see it. I'll have an aid pick us up tickets." Minato smiled.

"Sweet!" Karin cheered.

"Now that that's settled, I really gotta go." Minato said right before he gave Kushina a quick peck on the lips, an over the table hug to Karin, and a quick man hug from Naruto.

"It's so great to have you home." Minato whispered.

"It's good to be back, dad." Naruto said.

Minato smiled and broke away. He grabbed his trench coat and his Hokage Hat and made his way outside to the car that was waiting for him.

Back in the kitchen, Naruto was helping his mother clean up.

"Oh Naruto, you don't need to do that." Kushina said quickly.

Naruto looked up with his hands filled with dirty plates. "It's no trouble, mom. I want to."

"Better him than me." Karin shrugged.

"Oh hush. It wouldn't kill you to volunteer to do the dishes every now and again." Kushina said.

"It might. You never know."

"I do know. Maybe I should have your father extend the draft out to 14-year-old girls. A few months in Army Training and I could have both of my children doing their chores without a fuss." Kushina smirked.

"Except they don't allow women in the army." Naruto said.

"True, but as the wife of the 25th Hokage, I have certain...influences, over the men who oversee these regulations." Kushina smirked, making both her children gag.

As they were talking, Naruto had already put the plates in the sink and were scrubbing them good. His mother was right about one thing, his time in basic training made cleaning up after a family of four's breakfast seem like a breeze. He shuttered when he remembered the sleepless nights he and Kiba had to spend scrubbing pots in the mess hall after they had started a small food fight.

"Oh Naruto, just let those plates soak. I want to start enjoying my day spent with my two favorite kids." Kushina smiled.

"Fine by me, I'm done." Naruto said.

"We're you're only kids." Karin pointed out.

"Exactly, therefore you're my favorites-wait what?" Kushina asked, quite certainly that she didn't just hear that Naruto was done with the dishes already.

"What?" Naruto asked.

"You, how did you finish cleaning those plates so quickly?" Kushina asked as she looked in the sink to see that yes, the plates were scrubbed shining and were drying on the drying rack.

"I...just did them like I normally do." Naruto said, a little confused.

"Naruto, I'm your mother. A year ago, this same task would have taken you a half an hour. Did the Army retrain you on how to clean dishes quicker?"

"Huh? Oh...yea I guess it did."

"Well that's fantastic. Some good came out of that Army Training after all." Kushina joked as looped her arm around Naruto's.

"Ha ha...very funny." Naruto said sarcastically.

"Thank you, now both of you, come on. It's a beautiful day and I want to get out of this dusty old house already." Kushina said as she led Naruto to the front door.

"Well as nice as winter can be I suppose." Karin said.

"Don't be snooty, come on." Kushina ordered as they stepped outside to the 50 degree sunshine.

"Ahh...bout time we had some warmer weather." Naruto sighed contently.

"I know, right?" Kushina said. "Come on, there is something I want to show you."

"Oh yea? What's that?" Naruto asked.

"You'll see." Kushina teased her son, even though Karin had a fairly good idea what she meant.

The three Uzumakis all walked towards downtown Hidden Leaf, passing by busy shops, on leave Soldiers hanging out with their buddies or their girls, and the occasional automobile driving right past them. There were a few passers-by who stopped and stared at the First Family so casually walking out in the streets, and many more gawked at the return of the 25th Hokage's son, rumored to be one of the heroes of Bloody January.

Finally, they made it to their destination and Karin's suspension was confirmed. Naruto stepped out of the crowded street and into a wide open park located right smack dab in the middle of downtown Hidden Leaf.

"Wait a minute." Naruto said as soon as he recognized this place. "It can't be."

"It is." Kushina gushed. Her own personal pet project as First Lady. "The park you and your friends used to play in has finally been renovated."

"Oh my god..." Naruto breathed out in awe. Stretching 20 blocks in either direction, Naruto could see green grass, trees perfect for climbing, hills made to be rolled down or sled down, a lake and a river cutting the park in half, cobblestone pathways trailing around the trees, and brand new playgrounds where children played. All around them, families were enjoy the brief heatwave. Men in military uniforms sat on picnic blankets with loved ones. Children were laughing, young women were giggling. It looked like a perfect day in summer. Like a little corner of Heaven where the war didn't exist.

"Do you like it?" Kushina asked.

"I love it. How on earth did you get all the funding for this in wartime?"

"With a whole lot of fundraisers and pinching pennies." Kushina chuckled.

"As well as yelling at the workers to move their asses." Karin joked.

"Language!" Kushina scolded.

"What? It's true." Karin defended, remembering all the Saturday mornings she spent with her mother under an umbrella with a glass of lemonade while she cracked the whip on the day laborers who thought the Hokage's wife was a softhearted pushover trying to get kids a new playground.

"I completely believe you." Naruto stated.

"Well what are we standing around for?" Karin asked. "Let's have some fun!"

"How? You want me to push you on the swing?" Naruto smirked.

"Oh ha ha...actually...maybe for...old times sake..." Karin said sheepishly.

Naruto's eyes went wide. He looked over at Kushina who was just as surprised as he was. A year ago, Karin would have slugged him on the arm for suggesting something so childish. But now...

"Weeeeeeheheheeee!" Karin cried out a few minutes later as she swung back and forth on the swing, powered by Naruto.

"Oh...I wish I had my camera..." Kushina gushed. It was just like when they were little kids.

Naruto just smiled. It felt so good to be around his loving family again, even if his dad wasn't there yet. This was exactly what he wanted when he got home. Sunshine, laughter, and happiness. Well, after all those beers of course.

"Higher! Higher!" Karin cheered, not caring how silly she looked.

"Wow, sis. I haven't seen you like this since you were 9." Naruto chuckled before he pushed Karin higher.

"Shut up, don't ruin it!" Karin cried.

"Right, right." Naruto laughed.

He kept on pushing her until he literally had to jump just to keep pushing her.

"It's moments like these that make me happy to be alive..." Kushina sighed contently.

Naruto gave Karin one last huge push and she was flung from her swing. She performed a perfect backflip and landed feet first into the sand.

"Wow, nice landing sis." Naruto praised.

Karin held her skirt down behind her but to keep it flapping open with the wind. "Thanks, bro." She replied.

"When did you learn that?" Naruto asked.

"My gymnastics lessons?" Karin said like it was obvious.

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "When did you start doing gymnastics?"

"Like, 3 years ago?" Karin said indignantly.

"Oh, right. Sorry, I guess I forgot."

"Yeah, thanks." Karin huffed, now ticked off.

Naruto looked around for a way to win back his sister when he spotted a man in a white cap in front of a white cart. "Hey Karin, how about some ice cream?"

Karin perked up after hearing that. "You buyin?"

"I...will delegate that to mom." Naruto said as he turned out his empty pockets.

"I thought the Army paid you." Karin said, slightly confused.

"They do. I just haven't had any time to cash my checks. And I forgot to grab my wallet this morning." Naruto admitted.

"Idiot...Well, go find out from mom." Karin sighed.

"I'm right here." Kushina waved. "And I'm more than okay with paying." She smiled.

"Great, thanks mom." Naruto smiled.

"No problem sweetie." Kushina smiled as she headed straight for the ice cream man.

Naruto and Karin followed their mother, eager to get some ice cream.

The man selling the ice cream had just finished serving a cute little girl and her father when who but the First Lady of the Leaf walked up to his humble cart.

"Oh my goodness...Lady Kushina. It's a pleasure." The stunned ice cream man said.

"The pleasure is all mine, mister...?" Kushina smiled.

"O-oh...Um, just call me Hershey. Saito Hershey." He introduced.

"Hershey? Like the chocolate bar?" Naruto snickered.

"My family owns the company." Saito said.

The three of them did a double take. "I'm sorry, you say that your family owns Hershey chocolate?" Karin asked.

"That's correct...But I'd rather sell my homemade ice cream flavors. Here, I'll give you a sample of one I just created." Saito smiled before he grabbed 3 small cups and dished out what looked like chocolate ice cream with something else swirled in with it. He grabbed 3 spoons and handed them out. "Give that a try and tell me what you think."

The Uzumakis all shrugged and took the free samples. As one, they all took a bite.

Karin was the first to react. "Wow! What is that!?" She shrieked joyfully.

"Peanut butter fudge swirl." Saito smiled.

"Wow! Who woulda thought peanut butter would taste so good with chocolate?" Naruto beamed.

"I know, right? I'm thinking of branching out from my family's company. Start one of my own." Hershey Saito said.

"You should do it. Hell, we'd sponsor it." Kushina beamed.

"Oh no, M'lady. You don't have to do that."

"Nonsense. I'm the First Lady of the Leaf. I do what I want." Kushina said. "Now if I could get a full scoop of that peanut butter and chocolate ice cream in a cone, I would be ecstatic."

"W-why...Thank you, M'lady...Yes, coming right up. One for each."

"Sweet, thanks Hershey." Naruto said.

"Oh, call me Reese. It's some weird nickname my family calls me." Hershey said.

"Nice. Different, but nice." Karin said.

"Yup." Hershey 'Reese' Saito said. The trio then left him to his work and took a walk down the cobblestone path.

"Were you serious about funding him, mom?" Karin asked.

"I would take a look at Reese's business plan. He seems like a nice young man with a good product. But never make a decision without looking at the numbers. That's business 101, kids." Kushina said.

"Right." Naruto agreed.

The mother and her children walked down the path with their ice cream happily in hand. Then Kushina smelled a vulture.

"Oh no." Kushina whispered right before the camera flash went off.

"Gaah!" Kushina cried and Naruto just froze.

"Mrs. Uzumaki, Mrs. Uzumaki!" A reporter shouted as a dozen or so reporters armed with cameras and tape recorders seemed to leap out of the wet wood.

Kushina turned and gave the cameramen a fake smile, hoping to placate them and continue her day off with her children uninterrupted. "Yes, hello." She smiled with a half-hearted wave.

"Mrs. Uzumaki, hi, you look fabulous today, Ma'am. Are these your children? Any comments on the war effort?" One report asked.

"Yes, they are my children. As far as the war effort, I'm just glad that our soldiers who are on leave are here to get some well-deserved rest and relaxation." Kushina said.

"No comment on the men still fighting without relieve?" The same reporter asked.

"I just hope for the best and their safe return home." Kushina added.

"Any comment about the heroes of Bloody January?" Another reporter asked.

"Isn't your son one of those heroes?" Another reporter spoke up.

"That's him right now, isn't it?"

"Yeah, Naruto... Is it Namikaze or Uzumaki?"

"Uh...it's Uzumaki." Naruto responded.

"Not named after your more famous father?" A reporter asked.

"Um, I guess my parents decided not too. I don't know, it's never bothered me before." Naruto said sheepishly.

"Hey, what's your name?" A reporter asked the younger red head.

"I'm Karin." Karin said.

"That's a pretty name. What's your last name and what's your age?" The same reporter asked. "Also, do you have a boyfriend?"

"I'm 14. both me and my brother here have both Uzumaki and Namikaze as our last names, but we tend to use Uzumaki more. And, no I don't have a boyfriend." Karin responded.

"What? How are the boys in your school not tripping over themselves to date you?" The reporter asked making Karin blush.

"No comment." Kushina said forcefully.

"Right, getting back to the heroic soldier son, did you fight on the front lines or were you in more of an administrative position because your father is the leader of the Free World?" A reporter asked Naruto.

"I...was on the front lines." Naruto informed, gathering all of the reporters attention.

"What company did you serve in?"

"Did you lead a squad?"

"What rank are you?"

"Did you receive a battlefield promotion?"

"Did you really fight for 30 days straight without sleep or food?"

"Were you a machine gunner? A rifleman?"

"Did you kill a lot of those bastard savages?"

"What was your most heroic moment?"

Naruto's head began to spin from the onslaught of questions coming at him like being fired from a machine gun.

"Uhh..." Naruto stammered.

"How many in your company died?" One reporter asked.

"Did any of your friends die?"

"How many of your best friends died?"

"Which were the hardest to accept?"

"Do you feel guilty for all the men you've killed?"

"I um...believe I was given a submachine gun at the start of the fighting..." Naruto tried to speak up.

"If you knew back before you signed up what you know now, would you volunteer for the military again?"

Naruto couldn't answer anymore, he was simply frozen in place.

"How did you get those scars?"

"Hey, Mr. Uzumaki, look here!" One cameraman shouted. That got Naruto's attention enough that he saw a blinding flash of light hanging just above the tree tops. The flare glowed brighter than the floodlights hanging over Chunin Stadium as its mini parachute kept it floating gently down to earth like some terrible ghost.

"THE ENEMY IS CHARGING! OPEN FIRE!" Someone yelled, followed by what sounded like three dozen firecrackers popping off at once. Naruto looked down the line to see the silhouettes of the enemy Sound soldiers charging at Naruto's line with fixed bayonets. Their bloodcurdling howls pierced Naruto's ears as the closest ones were cut down like puppets by their strings. Some made it through to the other side and men choked on their final screams. Naruto looked out and saw one enemy trip over his own two feet, only to be trampled by his buddies in their suicidal run to take out at least one of their enemies.

"HEY NARUTO, GOT ANY WORDS FOR GUYS STILL THINKING ABOUT ENLISTING?" One enemy screamed at Naruto, enough to make the boy turn and see an enemy soldier baring down on him with his bayonet pressed right underneath Naruto's chin.

"What?" Naruto asked, looking at the reporter holding the tape recorder right underneath Naruto's nose.

"Um, I said, do you have any words for guys still thinking about enlisting." The reporter repeated.

"I uh..." Naruto stammered, his black out episode only being noticed by his two family members. "I would tell them...that there is more ways to serve than to fight... If that's their issue." Naruto stated. Remembering what his father had said to him after he found out Naruto had signed up for the Army.

Kushina had noticed Naruto's hesitation in answering that question. But she also noticed the horrified stare he briefly had on his face. That told her everything.

 _'Oh no... Minato was right...my poor baby...'_ Kushina thought.

"Ooh, the clever response of a politician. Are you thinking of following in your father's footsteps?" A reporter asked.

"It never crossed my mind...I'm just doing what I think is right." Naruto answered.

"You don't think about your future?" The same reporter asked.

"I'm sorry. Excuse me." Naruto said before he pushed past the reporters and left his mother and sister to fend for themselves.

"I think we're done here." Kushina said as she and Karin moved through the reporters.

"Hokage's War Hero Son of the Konoha 11 Dreams of being Next Hokage." One reporter spoke aloud to himself. Kushina and Karin ignored him and tried to follow Naruto as he ran off into the woods.

"Bro! Wait up!" Karin called out. But Naruto ignored her too and dashed through the maze of trees faster than either one of them could even hope to keep up to. Naruto needed some room to breathe. The boy's memories bombarding him one after another, spreading through his thoughts like poisonous weeds. Every memory he managed to stuff back down into his subconscious just made way for another memory to spring up. It was maddening.

 _'Calm down.'_ Naruto thought. _'Calm down, calm down.'_ He ordered to himself. _'Just focus on something else. Your environment. Remember where you are.'_

Naruto opened his eyes and found himself on the other side of the park, looking out at the busy city street. With street vendors selling flowers and fresh fruit on the sidewalk. Shoppers and young couples out walking the streets. And even a few cars driving on down the road.

 _'Find something to single out. Concentrate on it. Block everything else out.'_ Naruto thought. His eyes scanned the crowd for something interesting and quickly fell upon a cute bob of mint green hair in a sea of brown and brunette.

Naruto was in awe, he had never seen that wild hair color before, and on a girl no less. _'A cute girl.'_ Naruto thought as soon as he noticed her figure in that simple dress of hers. It was light blue with zig zag patterns of darker blue and went down to her knees. Still, it hugged her hips perfectly to show off her modest hourglass figure. She had a jacket on to cover her shoulders, and as she turned away from the fruit vendor with a huge smile on her face that Naruto noticed how dark her skin was. A light mocha color that you certainly never saw in the Land of Fire.

 _'A foreigner.'_ Naruto realized around the same time he noticed something coming at her right outside Naruto's peripheral vision. A red convertible that couldn't possibly slowdown in time. Naruto didn't even have time to think, his instincts honed in battle took over and he shot out at the girl in a dead sprint. He didn't even have the chance to warn her before he tackled her, sending them both flying out of the way of the runaway car that sailed right past them.

"Oof!" The two of them cried when they hit the ground. The only other should that could be heard was the cries of surprised on lookers and the screeching of the car breaks.

Naruto shook his head, he consciously regained control of his actions.

"Ugh...Hey! What's the big idea?!" The girl protested.

"Huh, what?" Naruto asked, feeling a little light headed from his sudden action.

"Let go of me!" The girl continued to protest.

"Hey, okay, geez." Naruto said as he threw himself off the ground and held his hands up in a non-threatening way.

The girl got up madder than a wet cat. "Alright, buddy. What's the deal..." She paused her rant when she got a good look at the man before her. strong, muscular build, blond hair, and covered in scars. a soldier if she ever saw one. _'Woah...he's handsome...'_ She thought.

"You were about to get hit by a car, you ditz. That's the deal." Naruto exclaimed.

"Wait...What?" She asked before spotting the red car that had stopped near where she was standing in the road. The sudden realization that she could have been killed caught up to her. "Oh my god...I didn't even notice..."

"Yeah, you're lucky I did. That was seriously cutting it close." Naruto said. He wasn't usually this blunt, but his little episode with the reporters earlier had made him agitated.

"Geez...Um...I'm sorry about that...I didn't mean to snap." She said shyly.

Naruto looked at her and felt his frustrations melt away at that cute face. "Yeah, I'm sorry too. I didn't need to snap at you either."

"It's alright. I did come off kind of bitchy when you were saving my skin...So...Thanks for that."

"Don't mention it. I'm Naruto, by the way." He said, holding out his hand.

"Fu." She smiled and shook his hand.

"Hey, uh, lovebirds?" A random man standing next to them spoke up. "You two might want to take this off the street before a third person has to save you both."

The both of them blinked at being called lovebirds and then realized that they were indeed still standing in the middle of the road surrounded by spilled oranges.

The man who spoke to them then got a good look at Naruto and realized who it was. "Holy... You're Naruto Uzumaki, aren't you."

"Ummmmmm..." Naruto said, definitely certain that he didn't want any more attention for being the Hokage's son today.

"Oh man, you are, aren't you? I read about you in the paper a few times. Said you had joined the military but I guess you're back now. Craziest thing. I was just walking down the road and there I see you saving this girl from that idiot." The man rambled on while pointing towards the red car where the driver had leapt out and fallen to his knees, begging for forgiveness from the loose crowd surrounding him.

"Naruto Uzumaki? Are you famous or something?" Fu asked, making Naruto flinch.

"Are you kidding? He's the Hokage's son. Best damn Hokage we've ever had as far as I reckon. But there's hardly a villager alive who wouldn't know this boy's by his father's reputation." The man continued to ramble.

"Hey that's great. How about I help you pick up your oranges." Naruto quickly interjected, hoping to change the subject. The overly friendly man, however, took this for completely different meaning.

"Oh I see." He said, winking at Naruto. "I'll leave you both to it then." He smiled before walking off as quickly as he came. Both young adults watched the man disappear into the crowd.

 _'Weirdo.'_ They both thought. With that out of the way, Naruto began picking up the oranges off the dirt street. The ones that the car hadn't smashed anyway.

"So, you're the Hokage's son?" Fu asked. "That must be pretty cool."

"Eh, it's alright." Naruto said as he scooped up 2 oranges and placed them in Fu's brown paper bag.

"Really? Going for the whole, my daddy is super powerful, no big deal." Fu said, mimicking the voice of a douche.

"It isn't a big deal. At least, not how I see it..." Naruto said sourly.

"What do you mean?" Fu asked.

Naruto sighed. "The title of Hokage anymore is nothing more than a political figure head when it's the council who makes all the decisions. A long time ago, the Hokage used to be the most powerful ninja in the village...now it's nothing more than politics."

"So...you're not, like...excited that your dad has all this political power?" Fu asked.

"Not in the slightest..." Naruto said as he finished gathering up the oranges and led Fu to the sidewalk.

"Why? I would think that you'd be happy that your dad runs the whole town."

"He runs the whole country. And I'm proud of him for that. I just don't like to be compared to him over that. It makes me feel like people who do only see me as the Hokage's son." Naruto said.

"Oh..." Fu said, now more understanding of this man.

"Anyway, enough about me. Tell me about yourself." Naruto asked as he finished picking up the last few oranges he could salvage.

"Oh...well..." Fu said, quite uncertain if she wanted to tell this boy. He seemed so nice but she had been deceived before when trusting people with this information. "Well as you can probably guess, I'm a refugee."

"Yeah, that seemed obvious enough. Where are you from anyway?"

"I'm from Waterfall." Fu informed.

That made Naruto stop in his tracks. "I'm sorry, did you say Waterfall? As in..."

"Part of the Pitter Patter Axis Alliance? Forcibly a part of it, yes." Fu cut him off.

"Wait, forcibly?"

"Yes. The Axis threatened to destroy the whole country and either kill everyone or enslave them unless they joined. So they had no choice. Luckily I was able to flee before the war started." Fu informed.

"Wow. I didn't know that." Naruto admitted.

"Lots of people don't. It makes it really hard to explain it people you meet. Especially when their country happens to be at war with your own." Fu said sadly.

"Hey now, don't worry about it." Naruto said to cheer her up.

"Don't worry about it? Why? Is it not a big deal that I left all my friends and family behind when I fled to the Leaf? That I'm treated with nasty looks wherever I go? That I have had no one my age to talk to for nearly two years?" Fu snapped.

"Well, I'm talking to you now and if you're looking for friends you got me and I'm sure all my friends would love to meet you." Naruto said happily.

"You're serious?" Fu asked, her eyes filled with hope.

"If I'm lying I'm dying." Naruto chuckled.

"Eeeeeeeep!" Fu shrieked as she grabbed Naruto in a bear hug.

"ACK! Fu...Too tight...air..." Naruto gasped.

"Whoops, sorry." She apologized profusely as she let the blond man breath. "I'm just so excited. You'd better not be lying."

"Phew...no, I'm not lying. I never go back on my word." Naruto proudly stated. "I just need to find a time when everyone will be hanging out together. Let you get to know Sakura-chan and Ino especially. They'll be great company. I'm pretty sure they're both working right now. But tonight or some time."

Fu looked at Naruto with a skeptical smirk and grabbed a pen and a scrap of her paper bag. She scribbled down something on the paper that Naruto didn't see.

"If that's the case, then let me give you my phone number for when that hang out time gets established. You'd better call me or I will hunt you down, Uzumaki. I don't care who your daddy is." Fu playfully threatened.

Naruto just chuckled. "Of course I'll call."

"You'd better." Fu smirked as she held her bag of oranges tighter. She looked up and caught Naruto's gaze staring very intently at her.

"Uh, Naruto. You're staring at me." Fu said.

"Oh am I? Sorry..." Naruto said sheepishly.

"You like what you see?" Fu smirked.

Naruto blushed. "Oh...well, um...I mean...you are very pretty..."

"Oh am I?" Fu smirked, liking this boy more and more by the minute.

"Yeah, your eyes especially. They're so orange." Naruto said, his lips and his brain were not cooperating.

"Really? You like...my eyes...?" Fu gasped. "No one has ever said that before..."

"I do. Orange is my favorite color." Naruto said.

Fu smiled. "You're not much of a smooth talker are you?" she giggled.

"I don't think so. Haven't actually ever scored a date yet." Naruto admitted.

"Really? I find that hard to believe. I bet all the girls here would want to bed you."

"Well, they do. but they're not the ones I'm interested in."

That made Fu raise an eyebrow. "They're not? Well, then...who is?"

"Well there is this one girl. But she was never interested in me. And now... Well now wouldn't be a good time to ask her out again anyway."

"So you're still interested in her I take it." Fu deduced.

"Kinda. She's a close friend. Always will be, I hope. But honestly, it might be time to move on." Naruto sighed.

"Hmm..." Fu thought it over for a second and then she smiled. "Well, give it some time. I mean, I think you're a great guy even though I've only just met you. But if this girl is that special to you then I'm sure she'll come around in time. She'd have to be crazy to refuse you."

"She also just lost her brother to the war. My best friend. How would it look if I tried to make a move on her now?" Naruto asked, finally spilling the beans.

"Oh dear...I'm so sorry to hear that..." Fu said sympathetically. "Well, you know what they say; time heals all wounds."

"Maybe." Naruto said as they continued to walk aimlessly down the sidewalk.

"So tell me about your friends. What are they like?" Fu asked.

"Oh them? Well there's Choji. He's funny and relaxed, but likes to eat a lot."

"Choji...alright, sounds like a nice guy."

"Then there's Kiba. Look out for him. He'll try to get up your skirt if given the chance." Naruto warned.

"Ah...noted." Fu nodded. She'll have to keep an eye on that one.

* * *

As they were talking, back at the hospital, Sakura was exiting the OR from her latest surgery.

"Oh man...I wish these damn surgeries would stop." Sakura said in exhaustion.

"Dr. Uchiha. Phone call on line 3. Dr. Uchiha. Phone call on line 3." Sakura head over the PA.

"Of course...can't even get a minute to take a piss, let alone catch my breath." Sakura grumbled before making her way to the nearest nurse's station. Once there, a nurse was already on the phone. Upon seeing Sakura, she put it on hold.

"It's Dr. Senju. She needs to talk to you about something." The nurse said.

"Probably to ream my ass out for something." Sakura sighed before taking the phone. "Dr. Uchiha here."

"Sakura...are you sure your head is in the game today?" Tsunade asked.

"As best as I can. I've done 10 back to back surgeries with no breaks as it is."

"Well the one in OR-2 needs to be cut back open."

"Huh? Why?" Sakura asked.

"Because one of your braindead assistants left gauze in the chest cavity." Tsunade reported.

"What?! Oh goddammit...Alright, I'm on it." Sakura sighed.

"Well, no...I'll take care of it this one time. Take 5 minutes for yourself before getting back to your rounds."

 _'Oh thank god...'_ Sakura thought with relief. "Thank you, Tsunade..."

"Don't mention it. Just hustle once you're done." Tsunade said before hanging up the phone.

"Well, it's not much...but 5 minutes is better than nothing." Sakura said as she handed the phone back to the nurse. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to the restroom. Haven't had a chance since 7 this morning."

"I bet. Well, if anyone calls I'll let you know." The nurse said.

"Right." Sakura nodded before scurrying to the nearest bathroom. Just as she made it in to a stall, she didn't even latch the door before she was paged again.

"Dr. Uchiha to treatment room 9. Dr. Uchiha to treatment room 9." She heard over the PA.

"ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?!" Sakura protested loudly. _'Fuck it. They can wait. I can't.'_ She thought to herself.

After a couple of moments, she emerged from the bathroom and headed to the treatment room.

Once there, she was greeted by an irritated nurse with a child sitting on the exam bed.

"What do you have for me." Sakura said as she approached.

"The mother says he has pneumonia, but I think he just has a cold. honestly, these types of cases are getting in the way of those who really need attention." The nurse whispered.

"Well, then I guess it's a good thing that it's not your call to make." Sakura stated. "I'll take care of it. If I need you I'll call you."

"Yes, doctor." The nurse bowed before leaving the room.

Sakura turned to face the boy and mother and put a warm smile on her face. "Hello. I'm Doctor Sakura Uchiha. So what seems to be the problem today?" She asked professionally.

"Well, I already know what's wrong. Little Timmy here has pneumonia. Now I want you to give him something for it." The mother stated with her nose up in the air.

"I see. Well let me give him a quick check up and we'll see what form of treatment he may need." Sakura said.

"Oh there is no need for that. All he needs is something for the pneumonia and that's it." The mother said.

"Well, we don't know for sure if that's what he has. I'll need to check him out first and run some tests-"

"Tests?! There will be no tests. I ain't paying for no damn tests. Just give him some damn medicine." The woman snapped.

Sakura's face hardened against the woman's attitude. Seems that this was going to be one of _those_ parents. "Ma'am, I cannot just give your son medicine based on your word alone. I need to run tests to confirm his diagnosis and justify the use of any medicine he might need. Otherwise I could do more harm than good." Sakura stated, trying her hardest to keep her professional tone.

"Well then..." The woman huffed. "I want a different doctor. Preferably not some brain dead bimbo who likes to play doctor with seriously sick children."

A vein popped on Sakura's forehead. _'Oh you fucking bitch. If I could I'd haul off and deck your sorry ass...'_ Sakura stopped herself and took a deep breath. "If that's what you want, I will see who is available." She said calmly before returning back to the nurse's station.

"Send the hospital lawyer in there with whatever doctor is available. The boy probably just caught a bug but I don't take chances like that." Sakura ordered.

"Yes doctor." One nurse said before picking up the phone.

Sakura sighed and grabbed her next patient folder.

"Um, Doctor Uchiha. You're the only doctor available. Everyone else is in surgery." Another nurse reported.

"Then call me when the lawyer arrives. I need a breather or the mother is the one who will need a doctor." Sakura said as she skimmed open the folder.

 _'Neji Hyuga.'_ She read the name.

"Besides...this one is a little bit more serious." Sakura said before heading to Neji's room.

 _'Shrapnel trauma to the lower abdomen, tore through his lower intestines, but the surgeons did a good enough job stitching him back together.'_ Sakura read as she carefully stepped into Neji's sickroom and in the back of her mind heard the bed squeaking. _'So long as we keep him from getting infected, he should be...'_ Sakura stopped when she finally noticed her surroundings. The bed squeaking in the room went off one after another. The privacy certain was drawn and Sakura could see a figure sitting upright on the bed, facing away from the door.

 _'What in the...'_ Sakura thought. She heard what was unmistakably a moan from a man.

 _'Neji?'_ Sakura thought as she closed the door behind her.

 _'Oh God please no.'_ She thought as she slowly walked up to the curtain and yanked it away.

"Ooh! God damn it!" Sakura cried out when she saw Tenten sitting on top of Neji with the bed sheets covering her naked bottom half from Sakura.

"AHHH! Sakura!" Tenten screamed before both her and Neji gave out their release.

Sakura just stood there mortified while the two of them came down from their high.

"Uh, Sakura? Tenten why the Hell did you- Wait, Sakura?!" Neji's eyes shot wide open when he saw Sakura standing nearby.

"Oh god, Sakura. We're soo sorry..." Tenten apologized, completely embarrassed.

"No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have just barged in...actually, no, I shouldn't be sorry. What the Hell are you two doing? Don't you know this is a hospital?!" Sakura exclaimed.

"Um...I uh...we...well..." Tenten stammered.

"Just...get dressed and get out of here. Be glad I found you and not Tsunade." Sakura ordered.

"Oh man...that actually makes it hotter." Neji said, just imagining the danger of being caught by Tsunade.

"You be quiet. You're lucky to be breathing after your ordeal. And then you decide to have sex when you were just stitched up not even a day ago?! I thought you were smarter than that."

"I was. But Tenten had been with me since I got to the hospital. And...well...she was helping me scratch an itch." Neji admitted.

"I can see that..." Sakura deadpanned.

"Look, I'll go. Just please don't tell anyone." Tenten said.

Sakura pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. "You're lucky you're both really good friends of mine. Had you been anyone else..."

"I know, and can you also turn around for a bit?" Tenten requested with a red blush on her cheeks.

"Yea, yea..." Sakura sighed before she closed the curtain behind her to leave them to it. Only now Sakura couldn't help but be very aware of the noises the two of them were making as Tenten slipped out of Neji and then the rustling of the sheets as she put her undergarments on. Her feet hit the cold tile floor and Sakura clearly heard her put her shirt on.

"Just...hurry up. I have a lot of other patients to see and you're holding me up." Sakura said, feeling the temp in the room elevate by 15 degrees.

"Alright, alright, I'm decent." Tenten said before pulling back the curtain.

"Alright...now please leave. I've got a job to do."

"Fine." Tenten said before turning back to Neji and planting a kiss on his lips.

"Bye, Neji, see you tomorrow." Tenten smiled.

"See you later, dear." Neji smiled

Tenten walked out of the room, putting an extra swish in her step for Neji's sake.

"Okay, so I need to give you an examination. Make sure that you are healing properly." Sakura said.

"Okay...again, we're sorry about that." Neji said.

"Forget it. So long as you two were safe about it and well...I can't throw you out anyway." Sakura said.

"You can't?"

"You're a patient, so no." Sakura looked over Neji's file one more time.

"It says here that a grenade went off and struck your lower intestines. How exactly are you not dead?" Sakura asked.

"The grenade went off below me. I was perched in a tree, providing cover support with my sniper rifle. A friendly grenade rolled by the base of the tree and I took the reduced blast." Neji said.

"Well, you're darn lucky. However, there was significant damage to a lot of your internal organs. Sorry, Neji. But you won't be returning to the front lines anytime soon."

Neji's fist tightened around his bedsheet. "How long?"

Sakura sighed. "4 months at the very least."

"You're shitting me."

"Afraid not...I'm sorry."

Neji sat quietly, thinking it over. "I don't suppose you could let me out early by say, the 15th?"

"I can discharge you before then, but you still need time to recover."

"And what about getting me back with my squad?" Neji asked.

"When you are discharged, you will be restricted to bed rest at home until you are fully recovered. As I said, you won't be able to rejoin them for at least 4 months." Sakura reiterated.

"Are you kidding me? They'll reassign me to another Company by then. Or worse, another Division. No, I wanna be with my teammates." Neji said.

"Well that's too bad. That grenade turned your organs into Swiss cheese. You're lucky to be alive at all." Sakura said sternly.

"If you can send me home in a couple of days, why can't you send me to the front?"

"Don't be stubborn with me, Neji Hyuga." Sakura barked. "You are NOT going back to the front lines and that's final. Keep it up and I'll have you admitted here for the full recovery time. Don't think I won't."

Neji pounded his fist onto the bedframe. "Damn it, Sakura. Don't you get it? I won't be left behind by my team."

"They won't have a choice. You're lucky you aren't being discharged from the Army completely from this. Now that is the end of this discussion."

Neji sighed. The grief evident on his face. "...fine."

"Now then. I'm going to lift up your gown to check your stitches." Sakura informed. Once she did, she noticed that the bandaging around his surgery site was still absorbing blood. "Still a little blood seepage. That's normal-wait, what the..." She just happened to look further down and something startled her. "Did...did you two have sex without protection?"

"Huh? No, there should be a condom...somewhere." Neji stated.

"Well, there isn't." Sakura said.

"Okay? So, what's the problem?" Neji asked.

"You mean besides the long list of sexually transmitted diseases? Pregnancy."

"Hey, I'm clean and so is...wait...y-you mean she...could be..."

"Pregnant? Possibly."

"No way. I'm certain I put a condom on." Neji insisted.

"Well, time will tell." Sakura shrugged.

Neji gulped.

"So, do you have any residual pain? Anything bothering you?" Sakura asked, hoping to get back on track.

"Um...no, not really." Neji said.

"Not really?"

"Just a dull pain every once in a while, but it's nothing serious."

"Hmmm..." Sakura said as she placed her stethoscope to Neji's chest. "Breath."

Neji breathed in deeply.

"And exhale." Sakura instructed.

Neji exhaled.

Sakura heard nothing but the smooth exhale of oxygen from a healthy lung. She repeated the process thrice more, listening to the other lung and then both lungs with her stethoscope pressed against Neji's back. She then inspected his pulse and found out six seconds later that it too was nominal.

"Looking good." Sakura said as she wrote down his vitals into his file. "Well, Neji. You seem to be recovering normally. Which is a lot better than when you came in here."

"That's good." Neji said.

"Yup, with any luck you should be out of here in a week's time and then you can have sex in your own bed." Sakura said.

Neji just blushed.

"That also means the next time Tenten is here, there will be none of that in this hospital. Am I clear?"

"Crystal." Neji said.

"Good. Now then. A nurse will be in shortly to change your dressing. I have more rounds to make, so I'll see you later." Sakura said .

"Right, thank you, Sakura." Neji said as he reached over to pick up one of his many books to read.

Sakura nodded and proceeded to leave the room. Once in the hallway, her whole body started to shiver and she felt like she was burning up.

"Oh my God I can still smell it." Sakura whispered to herself. Thinking of her walking in Neji and Tenten. The room and the bed had been saturated with their musky scent. All the sweat, all the...juices... And Sakura had to stand over the man post coitus for so long.

 _'W-what...is wrong with me...'_ Sakura thought. Her body felt so foreign to her with these new feelings.

Her thoughts immediately returned to that room, seeing those two from behind the curtain. Surrounded by that musky scent, Tenten's back arched in pleasure, Sakura imagined for a second what it would be like to be in Tenten's place. Her and Neji- no wait, that was weird. She tried picturing Neji as a featureless man, but everything she came up with ended up having messy blond hair, blue eyes, and whisker marks just to be as unambiguous as possible.

 _'Oh man...now I want him even more...but what is this...'_ She thought before it donned on her. _'Am I... what's the word...aroused?'_

What was she saying? Of course she knew she was aroused. She was a doctor. Yet the actual experience had never graced her. Not like this. It was hard to get aroused by movie stars and cute boys in class when her two older brothers were the hottest guys in the village. No one else quite measured up. But just thinking about Naruto and what Tenten and Neji did and replacing them with herself and that blond idiot she had come to adore, it was enough to drive her over the edge. She had to focus otherwise she'd lose her mind.

 _'The rest of my shift is gonna suck.'_ Sakura thought just as the intercom blared.

"Dr. Uchiha, you are requested at OR2."

 _'Case in point.'_

* * *

As Sakura went to deal with whatever new crisis the hospital could throw at her. Back in the park, her friend Temari was having a perfectly relaxing day. She was currently dressed in a beautiful Sunday dress with a parasol shielding her from the sun, being rowed through the Leaf village's man made river by her lover/slave Shikamaru.

"Temari...do you see what I'm seeing?" Shikamaru spoke up.

"What?" Temari asked.

Shikamaru pointed behind her, causing her to turn around to see two people walking down the sidewalk. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but that looks like Naruto walking with some foreign girl."

"What?" Temari asked as she looked to where Shikamaru was pointing and saw that it was indeed Naruto and another girl Temari had never seen before.

"No way...do you think Naruto moved on from Sakura?" Temari asked.

"Knowing him, he wouldn't give up Sakura so easily." Shikamaru said logically.

"What makes you say that? She's rejected him more than enough times." Temari reminded him.

"Yes, but he's stubborn. He wouldn't give her up for all the ramen in the world."

"He also blames himself for Sasuke, like you said."

"Yes, I know...but even that wouldn't be enough to get him to move on."

"How do you know?" Temari insisted.

"Because I've known him since we were 3 years old. If there are two things Naruto loves more than life itself, its Ramen and Sakura."

Shikamaru said as his mind drifted off to 11 months previously, back when him and the rest of the guys had just begun their formal training.

It was 9 in the morning, for most people it was the start to a dewy Spring day. For the recruits of the Land of Fire's 11th Army Division F Company, it was the end of their 5 hour long morning Physical Training. This morning's fun filled activities included 3 sprints up Youth Mountain. "3 miles up! 3 miles down!" As their drill instructor would always tell them. With sessions of push-ups, sit-ups, squats, some log lifts, and some nice relaxing stretches in-between.

So of course, once PT had finally ended, the men all hustled back to their barracks for a 15-minute break to change and get to the mess hall by 0930. Which meant that the first words out of anyone's mouth once they arrived back at their rack was a variation of, "Fuck!" followed by collapsing face first into their pillow.

"Somebody fucking kill me." Shikamaru kindly asked his neighboring bunkmates as they all lay prone on their beds, letting their feet rest for the first time since they woke up.

"IF we do that, then Temari would kill us." Sasuke said.

"Maybe if we explained to her our daily training, she would see it as a mercy killing." Naruto suggested from the top bunk. His legs feeling like Jell-O.

"Well, I'm going to power through this." Lee declared.

"Lee?" Kiba spoke.

"We all have girls back home to impress. What would they think of us if we just quit now?"

"Lee, I wasn't asking you to clarify. I was going to tell you to shut the fuck up and be miserable like the rest of us." Kiba said.

"Also, who in the Hell do you have to impress? Tenten chose Neji over you, remember?"

"I am aware, but I have someone else who is waiting for me." Lee said.

"Who?" Sasuke asked.

"Sakura." Lee spoke.

"No." Sasuke said firmly.

"Hell no." Naruto said.

"Oh come on. Sakura is the most youthful girl in the entire village. Besides Tenten I mean." Lee declared.

"And I will be dead in the ground before I let any of you jokers date her. Least of all you, Lee." Sasuke declared.

"Besides, I'm the one who's gonna finally date her." Naruto declared.

"Yeah, cause 117 time's the charm is how the saying goes." Shino said, being unusually snappy.

"Hey, shut up, Shino!" Naruto snapped.

"Oh can it, dobe. My sister has turned you down since we were in elementary school. She's just not that into you so move on." Sasuke said.

"No..." Naruto said firmly.

"Ugh, come on guys. We need to get to the mess hall." Choji said as he threw off his PT gear and put on his regular uniform for lessons and lectures.

"Dobe... take it from a guy who knows. My sister is not-

"I don't care." Naruto interrupted. "She's the only one I want in my life and I'm not gonna give up on her. Count that as a promise."

Sasuke sighed. "Damn, you're stubborn..."

"Damn right. So get used to calling me brother-in-law. Cause after I win this war singlehandedly for all of you ingrates, I'll be proposing to your sister." Naruto declared.

"If you were anyone else, I'd kill'em...all I can say is good luck. She's more stubborn than you and has a temper worse than mine, as you know." Sasuke joked.

"What you call a temper I call passion. You all just watch. When we get back home, I'm gonna get that girl." Naruto smirked, no doubt thinking of Sakura's smiling face as he said it. Shikamaru just rolled his eyes and said nothing. At the time, he was so hungry all he could think of was that he was ready to eat like an Akimichi.

"Oy, Little Boy, we're drifting pretty close to the shore." Temari spoke, breaking him out of his flashback.

"Sorry..." Shikamaru said before correcting his course. "Was just remembering something."

"From the battle?" Temari asked gently.

"No, from training." Shikamaru admitted as he righting the bow of the boat back on track with the current.

"I see. And how was training? I never asked."

"It was a barrel of fun." Shikamaru joked.

"A barrel of fun, huh? That's not what my brothers say about the Land of Wind's training. Perhaps you Leaf soldiers get softer training to accommodate your cushy lifestyle." Temari joked.

"Or maybe we just don't complain as much." Shikamaru teased back.

"Coming from you. That's rich." Temari smiled as Shikamaru continued to paddle them down stream.

* * *

Several hours later, Sakura walked out of hospital looking like she had just double timed it up Youth Mountain five times over. She had been on her feet all day treating patients and performing one surgery after another. Not only that, but thanks to two very close friends of hers and one snooty old bat of a mother; she had spent the whole day hungover, exhausted, hungry, pissed off, and wanting.

 _'Damn it, Neji, Tenten.'_ Sakura cursed to herself. _'And fuck you the most, lady. I hope you get Pneumonia.'_

 **BEEP BEEP** Sakura heard a horn blow. She looked around and saw Ino driving down with her car.

"Hey, Forehead!" Ino called out as she brought Sakura's car to a stop.

"Hey Pig. Enjoying driving around in my car?" Sakura smirked, her best friend always being a bright spot to her day.

"Oh you know it. Though I like my truck better." Ino joked.

"Your family's delivery truck? You hate that thing." Sakura said as she opened her car door.

"Yea, but it's bigger. This is kinda on the small side."

"Yeah, perfect for getting around cities. And it doesn't have Yamanaka & co. Flowers painted on the side." Sakura pointed out.

"Well, whatever...how was your day?" Ino asked.

"Oh my Rabbit Goddess, I have never come so close to punching an old lady!" Sakura exclaimed, finally letting her hot air escape.

"That bad, huh?"

"Okay, I've got to tell you about this one bitch. She was a mother. Looked like a stuffy old grandmother from the 19th century whose kept her witch's broom stuck up her ass for as long." Sakura ranted.

"Okay, I'm with you so far." Ino said as she turned onto the streets.

"Yeah, so she brings in her kid. A little boy with a runny nose and tells me that he has Pneumonia and wants medicine for him."

"Oh, one of those." Ino nodded.

"Exactly. Still, despite being run like a rented mule by Dr. Senju all morning, I tried to remain professional. I told her I just needed to confirm her diagnosis with some quick tests. And does she respond like an understanding adult?"

"Probably not."

"No, of course not. She tells me it is unnecessary and demands the medicine to deal with Pneumonia. I tell her I can't do that because I can't just hand out medicine all willy-nilly and she snaps at me for having an attitude."

"Pfft...wow...some people." Ino said in disgust.

"Oh yeah, but that isn't the end. I try to explain to her again but she just asks for another doctor. I oblige, seeing as I have a million other things I could be doing." Sakura huffed. "I then tell the front desk nurse to send in another doctor and a lawyer preemptively. And right before I can get to my next patient, the nurse tells me that I am the only doctor available."

"Wow. I would have just let her wait in the room until she takes the hint." Ino admitted.

"I wanted to too, but her son still might actually have Pneumonia." Sakura said. "But anyway, I leave her to check on my next patient and guess who it is?"

"Who? Naruto?"

"No, Neji. And Tenten." Sakura said.

"Okay...how's Neji doing?" Ino asked.

"Oh he's fine. Good enough to be screwing Tenten right when I walked in."

Ino blinked, not sure if she heard that right. "I'm sorry, they were what...?"

"Screwing, bumping uglies, although I think the proper term would be reverse cowgirl." Sakura exclaimed, feeling so embarrassed.

"And... you saw... (snicker)..." Ino suddenly burst out laughing.

"It's not funny!" Sakura cried.

"Yes it is...hahahahahaha!"

Sakura just sunk back into her seat, redder than a fresh plucked cherry as Ino got her laughter out of her system.

Ino finally calmed down from laughing so hard to ask her next question. "Hooo...so...how did that make you feel?"

"What? Did I suddenly become your 9 o clock appointment?"

"Just answer the question." Ino pressed.

"Embarrassed!" Sakura exclaimed. Ino waited a few moments before Sakura spoke again. "And...you know..." She mumbled.

Ino's eyes went wide. "Holy shit...you got horny from that?!"

"S-shut up! I didn't mean too!"

"Well, nobody means to. It just happens. I'm just surprised is all. Nothing makes you horny."

"What? Yes, things do! People do! Why am I telling you this?" Sakura shrieked.

"Because we tell each other everything." Ino pointed out.

"Oh...forgot..."

Ino rolled her eyes. "But seriously. Even when we went to see that adult movie, you didn't even so much as twitch. You just fell asleep."

"The plot was so stupid!"

"Well, yea it was...but even during the sex scenes you just kinda nodded off."

"It was all so boring! I can't believe I let you talk me into that! What if someone had seen us?"

"So, what if they had? What difference does that make?"

"We are both doctors and the daughters of two of the most famous clans in the country! How does it look if the two of us are seen watching a skin flick!"

"It would seem normal. Hell, my own parents go and I've seen your father and Itachi in there sometimes."

"What's your point, Ino?" Sakura asked, growing tired of this conversation.

"My point is, as difficult as it seems to get arousal out of you, something must have did it when you saw Tenten and Neji going at it. I know you're not really attracted to Neji and I know for certain you're not attracted to Tenten. So what was it? You obviously had someone in mind."

"Who do you think?" Sakura snapped.

"Let me guess...Naruto?" Ino asked.

Sakura just blushed, confirming Ino's guess.

"I kinda figured...but...I don't think you're gonna like who visited me earlier." Ino said hesitantly.

"Who?" Sakura asked.

"Our Lord Hokage..." Ino sighed. "He...wants me to evaluate Naruto for...suspected PTSD..."

Sakura looked at Ino dead in the eyes. "He has the same suspicions too?" Sakura asked.

"He has seen it. Last night, he saw Naruto running towards their house, doing what seemed like pretending to shoot enemy troops with a bazooka. Just a few hours ago, Lady Kushina called me and told me she had seen a panic-stricken look on Naruto's face when reporters started questioning him about the war and then he just took off..."

"Oh my God, where is he? Is he okay?" Sakura asked.

"He's fine. They found him an hour later walking along and smiling like nothing had happened. He's really got them spooked." Ino said.

"Oh no..." Sakura said with concern. "Did anything else happen?"

"Well...Lord Hokage said that when he put his hand on Naruto's shoulder last night, Naruto whipped around and almost slit his throat...with his families Kunai."

"He attacked his own father!?" Sakura gasped.

"I don't think Naruto meant to. Because he said that Naruto started going into a panic attack when he realized what he almost did."

"I knew it. It's Shellshock, it has to be." Sakura said sadly.

"Well, either way, I'm evaluating him Tomorrow. Now I'm not supposed to be telling you this, just so you know."

"I understand. Doctor patient confidentiality. Still, thank you for telling me." Sakura said, feeling saddened for knowing but somehow it was better than being kept in the dark.

"I figured since you're a doctor it would be alright. I'll also give you a head's up on my diagnosis. Mind you, if I find him to have PTSD...that's IF I diagnose him with that...he won't be able to return to duty." Ino warned.

"That might be more difficult than you think." Sakura admitted.

"He won't have a choice. He would be a danger to himself and his fellow soldiers."

"Yes, but it reminds of early today after I finished Neji's check-up."

"Okay? What's that?"

"I told Neji he would have to take 4 months off to recover and as soon as I said that he wanted me to let him out on the 15th so that he could rejoin Fox company."

"That sounds about right. I take it you weren't gonna let him go."

"How can I? If he goes out fighting now he's liable to pop his stitches and end in worse condition. What if it happens in the middle of a battle? He could be bleeding on the ground before the enemy even shoots at him?"

"I know. And I bet he put up a fight about it."

"That's the thing. He put up a fight, but then he just let it go. Just like that." Sakura snapped on the "that."

"He probably realized he'd get more alone time with Tenten-Oh shit!" Ino said before she hit the brakes quickly for a car that ran the red light. "PAY ATTENTION ASSHOLE!" Ino screamed out the window.

"Sage of Six Paths... No, I think he plans on breaking out of the hospital." Sakura said seriously.

"Well then, you better keep an eye on him." Ino said as she continued on.

"I will. But I can't just keep him under observation for 4 months. He qualifies for off-patient status on the 15th. I can't just have him placed under house arrest."

"Well, I know that."

"So what is to stop him from rejoining Fox company?"

"Direct orders from the Hokage and maybe a lashing from both you and Tenten. Possibly even Naruto."

"You think Naruto will tell him to stay put?" Sakura asked skeptically.

"For the sake of his health he might."

"Were talking about the man who once jumped out of a tree on a dare that he wouldn't break his ankle. Instead he broke his leg." Sakura stated.

"And the army has definitely made him mature a lot since then." Ino said as they turned onto the block where Ino's house was.

"I don't know. Maybe if I get some free time tomorrow I'll talk to Neji myself and convince him to stay. Maybe Naruto's father can ensure that Neji gets a spot back with his unit after his four months are up." Sakura said hopefully.

"That could work." Ino said as she pulled into her driveway. "Welp...I guess I'll see you tomorrow." She said before handing Sakura her keys.

"Thanks. I'll pick you up at say 7:30?" Sakura asked, even though they both knew they had been carpooling for months.

"Yes, 7:30. But we're taking my truck this time." Ino insisted.

"Fine. You pick me up then. Save me some gas." Sakura said.

"Fine, fine...See you in the morning."

"See you, Pig." Sakura smiled as she drove away.

As she drove home, her mind wandered to what Ino said about Naruto.

It seemed unthinkable that Naruto of all people would have PTSD. If she hadn't seen it for herself Sakura might not have believed it. Even when she only knew him as her brother's annoying best friend, he was still so bright and cheerful. You always figured that he would always be smiling like that. No matter what life threw at him.

 _'This all has to be related to Sasuke. It just has to be.'_ Sakura thought.

Sakura turned right down the 8th Avenue where all the office buildings were closed for the night. The streets were empty, save for street lamps illuminating the dark. Sakura always liked this part of her route. It was the one time while driving out in the city that she wasn't surrounded by other cars and could just cruise for a few brief, wonderful seconds. Right up until a man ran right in front of her car. "OH SHIT!" Sakura cried.

She stomped on the brakes hard, making the car come to a full stop.

She heard a thud and almost had a heart attack. She dared open her eyes and was instantly relieved when she saw the blond man was standing over the hood of her car looking to be in one piece.

"Oh god no..." Sakura said in fear as she got out of her car to check to see if this guy was alright. "Are you okay?"

The man lifted himself off the hood of her car. The light from Sakura's headlights revealed it to be the last person she expected.

"NARUTO?!" Sakura exclaimed in absolute shock. "What the hell?! Why were you in the middle of the street?!"

Naruto looked directly at Sakura like a deer caught in the headlights. To the point that Sakura felt something was off. Something about Naruto was triggering her alarm bells.

The next thing she knew, Naruto took off in a sprint away from her car. "Wha!?" Sakura cried. Why was he running? He has clearly seen her. "Naruto, wait!" Sakura cried out, but the blond ignored her. Sakura was scared now, so she did the only thing she could think of.

"NARUTO NAMIKAZE UZUMAKI! STOP RIGHT THERE!" Sakura shrieked, her voice echoing through the air and up the poor boy's spin. He instantly stopped, thinking it was his mother calling out to him.

"Get over here!" Sakura ordered sternly.

Naruto made an about face towards Sakura. He had been on the receiving end of his mother's wrath one too many times to know not to ignore a woman when she speaks in that tone.

Sakura put her fists on her hips to prepare her lecture mode. "Just what the heck are you doing out here? I nearly hit you with my car. Are you drunk or are you..." She froze as soon as her eyes traced down his torso. Illuminated by the street lamp, Sakura could make out faint splatters of blood on his jacket. And his knuckles... his knuckles were all bloody and bruised. Like he had been punching a brick wall!

"Naruto...what happened? Why are you covered in blood?"

"I...um...I..." Naruto said as he looked at Sakura with terror in his eyes. He looked so lost and afraid. Sakura could also see evidence of dried tears on his face.

"Oh Naruto...come on...let's get you cleaned up." Sakura said softly as she gently led him to her car.

"I didn't mean to..." Naruto whispered.

"Shhhh...It's okay...it's all going to be okay..."

"I didn't mean to...you believe me right?" Naruto begged.

"Yes of course...now come on...I'll take you to my house and get you cleaned up..." Sakura said in a soothing tone.

Naruto nodding, feeling a sense of relief wash over him as she said those words. She opened her passenger door and eased him into the car seat. Naruto gave a great sniff as his eyes became misty. Sakura rushed to the driver's seat.

"It's okay, Naruto..." She said as she shifted the car into drive. The next thing Naruto felt was a soft and gentle hand wrap around his.

Naruto hiccupped. Sakura could see him breaking down at the seam. It broke her heart.

"Just hang on, Naruto..." Sakura soothed before she sped off towards her home.

"I'm...I'm sorry..." Naruto sobbed.

"Shhh...there's nothing for you to be sorry about..." Sakura soothed.

"Yes there is. They all hate me now. They're scared of me." Naruto cried.

"They just don't know any better...you did a heroic deed by serving our country."

"No...it's not that..." Naruto choked.

"What then?"

"I...I..." Naruto sobbed, his hand tightening around Sakura's. "I killed a man..."

"Well you've done that during-wait, you mean just now?" Sakura exclaimed in shock.

Naruto turned away from her in shame. "Now you hate me too. Just drop me off and save yourself from being an accomplice."

"No, I don't hate you, Naruto...I never have, nor will I. If you say it was an accident then it was an accident." Sakura said firmly.

"You mean it?" Naruto asked.

"Yes, I mean it."

"Even...even after I couldn't keep my promise to you...?" Naruto sobbed.

Sakura's breath hitched. Her suspicions were now confirmed. Naruto did blame himself for Sasuke's death and he was shying himself away from her because of it.

"Naruto...I am upset that Sasuke didn't come home..."

Naruto felt his guilt increase tenfold. He knew Sakura wouldn't forgive him.

"...but it's not your fault..."

Naruto paused. He wasn't sure he heard her right. "W-what...?"

"I said, it's not your fault that Sasuke died." Sakura repeated.

"But I was there. If I had been faster. If I had taken my break before him. I could have done something." Naruto growled, hating himself.

"Naruto...you can't save everyone. Things happen and you shouldn't blame yourself for something that was out of your control."

"But I-"

"Shhhh...now listen." Sakura silenced. "Do you know how many patients I lose in a week? Or even in a day?"

"Sakura, I'm not you...I'm not as strong as you..." Naruto admitted.

That surprised Sakura. "You think I'm strong?"

"Of course I do. You're the second best doctor in the country. Save for Granny Tsunade. You've got to be strong if you help all those sick people every day." Naruto said.

Sakura smiled. "Well, it's flattering that you think that, but in all honesty, you're a lot stronger than I am."

"No I'm not. I've only ever taken lives. You've saved lives."

"Naruto...you're saving more lives now than I ever have just serving our country. I'm saving hundreds...but you...you're saving hundreds of thousands."

"No, I'm just doing my duty...saving a couple of buddies at a time so that they can save a couple more buddies."

"And don't you know what all of that will accomplish in the long run?"

"Out in the field. On patrol, on the line. You don't think about the long run. This one Sergeant told me to forget about getting to see home again. I had to stop believing that I would get out of this alive. Me and my buddies were already dead. And so long as I kept clinging to hope, I would never be able to function as a soldier." Naruto said, his forehead pressed against the cool glass window. "And he was right."

Sakura sighed. "Well, you're braver than I would be. I wouldn't be able to do what you do out in the field."

"I hope you never have to." Naruto said seriously.

"But seriously, Naruto...don't blame yourself for what happened to Sasuke." Sakura pleaded as she used her thumb to message the back of his hand. "What happened, happened...I'm not mad at you, nor do I hate you...so, please...don't beat yourself up about it. If not for yourself, do it for me...okay?"

Naruto just sighed. He wasn't sure if he could just do that at the drop of a hat.

"And hey...if you do, you might just get that date you been begging me for." Sakura enticed.

"Now I just know you're pulling my leg." Naruto said.

"No, I'm serious Naruto. Would I lie to you?"

"Don't get my hopes up." Naruto said as they pulled into the driveway.

Sakura looked hurt as Naruto stepped out of the car and headed for the door. His feet were dragging.

"I guess you'll just have to wait and see, now won't you?" Sakura said.

"Yup. Can you let me in? I need to wash off my hands and call the police to turn myself in." Naruto said.

"Turn...Yourself in...? Naruto, if you do that then you'll be kicked out of the Army." Sakura warned as she unlocked and opened the door.

"Sakura. I committed murder. I beat a man to death. Right in front of my family. I am going to jail."

"Why...why did you do that...?" Sakura gasped.

"I honestly don't remember. I think the guy was just pissing me off. Either way, I snapped and beat him to death with my own fists." Naruto said as his spirit began to drain out of him as his shame returned.

"It was an accident, I'm sure. Your dad has the final say anyway."

"Sakura, you weren't there. But a crowd of onlookers was. They saw everything. And I'm not about to use my dad's influences to get out of a crime I did commit." Naruto stated.

"Just get inside. I'll call your parents and get their side of things." Sakura ordered as she opened the door.

"Alright, fine..." Naruto sighed and stepped inside.

The two stepped inside to the completely black interior.

"Itachi?" Sakura called out as she turned on the hallway lights. No response.

"Itachi! Are you here?!" Sakura called out louder. nothing.

"Is he still at work?" Naruto asked.

"I don't think so. He should be home by now." Sakura mused.

"Whatever. I'll be crashing on your couch if you don't mind me." Naruto said.

"Clean up first and you can crash wherever you want." Sakura said.

"Fine." Naruto said as he took an immediate right into the hallway bathroom and shut the door.

Sakura then picked up the phone and dialed the number for Naruto's house.

"H-hello...?" Sakura heard a voice whimper on the other end.

"Lady Kushina? It's Sakura."

"Oh my God, Sakura! I tried to call you earlier but you didn't pick up. Have you seen my son? He ran away!" Kushina exclaimed.

"Yes, he's here with me. He ran in front of my car and I almost hit him but he's safe." Sakura assured.

"Your car? Is he hurt? Where are you two?"

"We're at my house and he doesn't seem to be physically hurt...but he does seem that way emotionally. He told me he killed someone just a little bit ago. What happened?"

"Killed someone?! No, that little punk isn't dead. He's at the hospital drinking soup through a straw. We were just walking home from the theater when this young man came out of nowhere and started harassing us. I think he knew Naruto from before but then he slapped Karin across the face! Naruto then lunged at the stranger and started beating the piss out of him. He just kept punching the man's face like he was possessed."

Sakura let out a huge sigh of relief. "Oh god...I thought he actually did kill someone. But if that's what it was then I probably would have helped him."

"I would have too, but the boy soon became unconscious yet Naruto didn't seem to care. He just kept hitting him. It honestly scared me and Karin. Minato had to pull Naruto off of the kid before he would stop."

"I see...well, if it's alright with you, I'm gonna have him sleep here so I can keep an eye on him."

"By all means. The press has been hounding our front gate since Naruto ran away. Just keep him inside your house until Minato can make all of this blow over."

"Will do. I'll see you tomorrow at some point."

"Or in a couple of days. However long it takes the boy's lawyer to settle. Our lawyers have assured us three days' max if the eye witness testimonies don't scare the prosecution off." Kushina said. "Can I please talk to my son?"

"Well...he's in the bathroom right now washing up. He was covered in blood from that fight."

"Wasn't much of a fight. More like a session on tenderizing meat." Kushina chuckled.

Sakura giggled. "Man, I wish I could've seen that. Oh! If he's in the hospital, that means he's gonna be one of my runs." She grinned evilly.

"He'll be the one with the face like a baked potato."

"Noted. I'll be sure to give him a lashing from you."

"Don't actually do that, please. It'll just make the process of settling more difficult."

"Fine. But I'm low dosing his painkillers. Nobody slaps my surrogate baby sister and gets away with it." Sakura stated, remembering all the fond times she had babysitting Karin.

"That works." Kushina said.

Just then, Naruto emerged from the bathroom, now looking cleaner.

"Hey Naruto? I've got your mom on the phone. She wants to talk to you." Sakura said.

"I don't want to-" Naruto tried to speak before Sakura shoved the phone into his hands.

"Talk to your mother. I'm gonna go set up your bed for the night. You didn't kill anyone by the way." Sakura said before leaving.

"W-what are you-"

"Talk to your mother!" Sakura called out.

"But I-"

"Talk to her or you won't get that date!" Sakura threatened as she reached the guest room.

"What was that about a date?" Kushina asked.

"I don't know. Some practical joke Sakura-chan is playing on me." Naruto said as soon as Sakura was out of earshot and up the stairs.

"I dunno, sweetie. She sounded pretty serious." Kushina said.

"No, trust me mom. Sakura-chan is pulling a fast one on me. I've seen this before."

 _'God my son is dim.'_ Kushina thought.

Meanwhile, Sakura had grabbed an extra pillow and bed sheets from the closet and was making her way back down the stairs.

 _'He's such an idiot...but he's an idiot who needs my help.'_ She thought before she came the end of the stairs and back into the living room where Naruto was still on the phone.

"Alright, damn, I'm sorry!" Naruto shouted into the phone. "I didn't mean to scare Karin or you. I'm sorry..." He begged.

Sakura set the bedding on the floor near the pullout sofa. She removed the cushions and pulled out the hidden bed for Naruto.

Naruto continued to apologize to his mother while Sakura made his bed for him. _'Wow, come to think of it? When is the last time Naruto slept over here? 4-5 years?'_ She thought to herself.

"Okay, mom. Love you too. Goodnight."

Naruto hung up the phone just as Sakura finished making his bed.

"Everything good on the home front?" Sakura asked.

"Sakura-chan..." She heard Naruto choke out. "I...I'm..."

"You're fine, Naruto." Sakura soothed as she stepped right into his personal space and pressed her hand against his cheek.

"I'm sorry...I'm sorry for everything..." He cried into her shoulder.

"Shhh...it's okay..." Sakura sooth as she rocked him back and forth. The two of them stayed like that for what seemed like hours yet felt like seconds after they broke apart. Naruto had cried his heart out all over Sakura's now damp shoulder. His breathing became easier and Sakura could swear she saw the faintest hint of a smile on his face.

"Thank you, Sakura-chan. Seriously."

"Anytime...as I said, if I was mad at you, do you think I would go through all this trouble for you?" Sakura asked.

"I don't know. You always were like my second mom." Naruto smirked. "For me and for Sasuke."

"Maybe. And you were always my older brother's annoying friend who always wanted to date me."

"Yeah..." Naruto said as he turned away slightly.

Sakura sighed. Perhaps now wasn't the best time. "Well I think I speak for both of us when I say we've had a long day and should each hit the hay."

"Actually...if it's all the same...I kinda want more of your company." Naruto said sheepishly.

"Fine...just let me go get changed." Sakura sighed. Then she stopped herself when she processed what he said. "Wait, in what way?"

"Um? If it's not too much trouble, I'd want you to sleep down here with me. I've kind of gotten used to sleeping next to other people. Weird, right?" Naruto rubbed the back of his head.

Sakura's face turned beet red at the mere thought of it. But considering the kind of shape Naruto was in...

"A-alright...but just for tonight...and you keep your hands away from my bikini areas. Understand?"

Naruto blinked twice. "Not your entire body altogether? Plus, two feet? I was expecting you to want me to sleep on the floor."

"No, I don't want you to sleep on the floor. You've been through hell this past year and you're still going through it...just...don't overthink it and roll with it, alright?"

"But that would mean-"

"I told you not to think about it. Now, I'm going upstairs to change. I'll be right back." Sakura said before turning to leave.

Naruto blinked again. _'Is she...? Did she...? Has the whole town been flipped upside down since I left?'_ Naruto thought. He furiously messed up his hair, nothing made sense anymore. He wanted to just go back to life before the war. When his biggest concern was the next baseball game on his college team the Konoha State Fighting Frogs. Or passing the semester finals.

He threw his hands down in frustration and sighed. What use was there to dwell on it? He really did just want to go to bed. With that in mind he peeled off his buttoned-up shirt and tossed it to the floor. He figured that he could pick it up tomorrow if Sakura didn't berate him for it.

He looked down upon his naked torso and couldn't help but feel a sliver of pride. He had always been physically fit back when he was just a civilian. Sports, hiking, camping, and some very blessed genes assured that. But after his one year in the Army, every last shred of baby fat had vanished. He had even bulked up some. With some residual scars along his body that he considered badges of honor. He honestly felt like a superhero sometimes.

With that brief moment of self-grandeur out of the way, he stripped himself of his pants and hopped under the sheets wearing nothing but his boxers and his dog tags. Naruto relaxed as his skin pressed against the cool sheets. For the 2nd time in as many months he knew the feeling of sleeping in real bed. A pull-out mattress counted, right?

"A-are you decent...?" He heard Sakura asked from the other side of the doorway.

"I'm in clean boxers. If that's what you meant."

"It's fine..." Sakura said as she rounded the corner, making Naruto's eyes nearly bulge out of his head. She was wearing an oversized shirt that covered down to about halfway down her thighs. He couldn't tell if she was wearing shorts or underwear at all. But he got full view of those creamy legs he always admired.

"Um...d-do you mind not staring? It makes me feel...self-conscious..."

"Yea- what are you doing in that? Don't you usually wear full pajamas?" Naruto asked, not taking his eyes off of Sakura at all.

"No...I uh...haven't worn them since we were teens..."

"Which was how long ago?"

"About 5 years ago...around the time you stopped sleeping over."

"Ah..." Naruto said as Sakura carefully slipped underneath the covers next to Naruto.

"Do you... want to get the lights?" Naruto asked, wondering if Sakura now slept with the lights on. He could honestly never stand it unless the room was pitch black.

"Yea..." Sakura said as she reached over and turned the lamp off that was sitting on the table next to them.

The two young adults found themselves completely shrouded in inky darkness, with the ever-present thought that there was a partner laying next to them from the opposite sex.

"Hey...Sakura-chan?" Naruto spoke.

"Yea?"

"W-would you mind...if I...um...held you...?"

"Um, sure." Sakura said.

"But just remember what I said about staying away from my bikini area." Sakura added.

"Right, right." Naruto said sheepishly as he slowly reached out to feel Sakura in the dark. The rustling of the sheets made Sakura very aware of what Naruto was attempting to do. Her mind went wild with the possibilities.

 _'Oh God. Why did I give him restrictions? I could have told him to put his hands anywhere. Then his hands would slip down my backside, cupping my bottom. My panties could hold his hand in place with the other one pushed my face into his strong chest and then I-'_ Sakura's thoughts were cut off when Naruto's did indeed wrap around her backside.

 _'Oh Sage. Is he going to? Be a pervert. I give you permission just this one time.'_ Sakura tried to mentally command the idiot blond. Yet it was not to be. She felt his palms resting no lower than her lower back and no higher than her shoulder blades. The spots that he touched felt like they were on fire to Sakura, but they wouldn't be enough to get her going.

 _'God fucking damn it! This is still nice, but fucking Sage of Six Paths!'_ Sakura thought as Naruto brought her in as close as he dared. They could both feel the others breath trailing along the sheets to reach their noses. It wasn't completely intimate, but it was still lovely.

 _'Wait a minute, what am I thinking? We haven't even admitted our feelings let alone start dating! And here I am wanting him to ride me like a race horse!'_ Sakura berated herself. She was better than this.

If only she was more slutty like Ino. No wait, bad thoughts.

The next thing she heard and felt was his head snuggling into her bosom and the sound of him snoring softly.

 _'...Eh, close enough.'_ Sakura thought before she laid her head on his and proceeded to drift off to sleep.

* * *

Sakura dreamed that night. Dreamed of her mother, her father, and her two brothers. All back together with no more drama. There weren't any wars going on or soldiers to patch up. They were at the cottage in the Land of Waves. And Naruto was there with his family. And so was Ino and all of Sakura's friends. All was right with the world. Sakura looked down to see all of her friends and family playing in the lake at the bottom of the hill. And right next to her stood Naruto, looking as bright and as proud as the sun as he offered her his hand.

Sakura reached out, but found her perfect moment spoiled by storm clouds gathering on the horizon, coming close faster than anything possible in nature. It was as if the world was being sped up. The ground beneath her feet began to rumble and a dog began barking in the distance. Growing louder with each bark.

Soon it was enough to stir her awake. That's when she realized that she actually did hear some kind of noise.

She awoke to pitch blackness. She was also alone on her side of the bed. Something beside her was...whimpering...like a dog. A scared dog.

She leaned over to turn on a light to see Naruto shivering in what she could only assume to be fear in his sleep.

"Hehoheho..." He breathed heavily.

"Naruto?" She asked, reaching out to touch him on the shoulder.

Naruto snarled at her touch, but didn't wake up. He began jumping around and curling into a ball, facing away from Sakura. Like he was being prodded with a hot iron. He was having a nightmare. That much was certain.

Now Sakura was worried. Using a technique her late mother used on her and her brother's, she quickly grabbed a hold of Naruto and laid him down on her lap.

"Naruto. Wake up!" Sakura exclaimed while she shook him a little. The boy's eyes shot wide open as he inhaled. He looked so terrified like he was still trapped in his nightmare.

"Naruto, it's okay...you were just having a bad dream..." Sakura soothed.

"A nightmare." Naruto whispered. Sakura started stroking his hair and softly started humming.

Naruto kept his eyes from looking up at her, fixating them over at the fireplace where a figure sat on the fireplace, watching them. He could barely make it out, but as soon as his blurred vision became clear, he saw that it was Sasuke.

He just looked on in horror. Not saying a word, and Sasuke provided none either. He sat there in his military uniform, watching Naruto.

"Naruto?" Sakura whispered.

"S-Sasuke..." Naruto breathed out.

"What?" Sakura asked.

"Sasuke..." Naruto pointed a shaky finger at the fireplace. "He's right there."

Sakura quickly looked at the fireplace, but didn't see anything.

"Naruto, there's no one there."

"He's gotta be there. As a ghost or something. Plain as day." Naruto whispered.

"Naruto. Look again. There is no one there." Sakura said softly.

Naruto looked up at Sakura to see her concern and then looked back to see an empty fireplace.

"I swear, he was right there..."

"I believe you Naruto. But he is not there." Sakura whispered as she ran her fingers through his hair to calm him down.

Naruto just sighed. Maybe he was just seeing things. Maybe he was just over thinking it. He didn't really know, but Sakura's touch felt heavenly to him.

"He was there on the battlefield too. I saw him." Naruto said as he relaxed into Sakura's touch.

"Hmm...maybe...his spirit is watching over you." Sakura guessed.

"I hope not. I hate ghosts." Naruto admitted.

"Even if its Sasuke?"

"Even him. I told him if he ever tried to haunt me I would have him exorcised." Naruto said. Making Sakura giggle.

"I don't think his haunting you, Naruto-kun." Sakura laughed, but that last part made Naruto freeze. Sakura never called him that before...

"Since when do you call me Naruto-kun?" Naruto asked.

Sakura took a minute to remember what it was she said and blushed. "I uh...I...well..." She stammered. "I guess ever since you came back and I realized you had matured a bit. I see that there is more to you than the goofball I once knew. There is a man worth respecting."

"You mean I wasn't before?" Naruto smirked.

"Baka..." Sakura sighed. "Just try and get some sleep. You really need it." She said as she continued to let Naruto's head rest against her lap. Her thighs feeling so soft against Naruto's ear and cheeks.

Naruto yawned before snuggling deeper into her lap. "Don't have to tell me twice..."

Sakura hummed to him as he drifted off to sleep. A little tune that her mother always sang to Sakura whenever she had trouble sleeping. Her voice grew softer and softer as Naruto completely drifted off to sleep.

Sakura started to nod off as well, until she heard Naruto talk in his sleep.

"Sakura...chan..." He mumbled in his sleep

Sakura couldn't help but smile. _'He's dreaming about me...awww...that's sweet...'_ She thought.

"Will you...marry...zzzzz" Naruto didn't finish and started snoring, but Sakura caught onto it.

 _'Oh my god...'_ She gasped in thought.

"Big house... lots-a babies..." Naruto said before falling asleep for good.

Sakura's face turned beet red, but she wasn't embarrassed. She was overjoyed. Here she thought Naruto lost his feelings for her, but as she just heard he hasn't moved on and that made her happy.

 _'Yes, Naruto...big house and an even bigger family...'_ She thought happily. _'One day. When this war is over and you finally forgive yourself. I'll give you a chance.'_

"Mmmm...make me some Ramen..." Naruto mumbled.

Sakura giggled. _'And maybe I'll even cook you some ramen every once in a while. If you're good.'_


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning, Itachi snuck back into the house, hoping that Sakura wouldn't be awake yet and that he could sneak back into his room. He tip-toed into the living room and nearly had a heart attack when he saw Sakura's pink head sticking out from behind the couch.

"What in the...Sakura?" Itachi asked, making her stir awake.

"Itachi...? Where were you?" Sakura asked before she sat up, making Naruto stir awake.

Naruto rose from under the covers and yawned. "Morning..." He yawned.

"Naruto? What are you doing here?" Itachi asked with a smirk.

"Long story..." Naruto said as he rolled out of bed. He was not a morning person by any means.

"Oh my Rabbit Goddess I hurt." Sakura said as she cracked her back. That's what she got for sleeping while sitting.

Itachi couldn't help but snicker. "Fun night, huh?" he teased.

"Not really...been helping out this Baka all night..." Sakura yawned before something dawned on her. "Um, what time is it?"

Naruto took this time to stir awake and remembered last night. "Did I kill some guy last night?" Naruto asked, last night being fuzzy.

"Wait...kill somebody?" Itachi asked.

"No, you didn't. you beat the shit out of some punk who smacked Karin." Sakura reminded him.

"Oh right. Never mind, false alarm." Naruto said as he stretched his back.

"Really...I probably would have helped you." Itachi said.

"So, would I. Anyway, what time is it?" Sakura asked.

"Um..." He said before checking his pocket watch. "About 8 am."

"8AM?! Shit!" Sakura shrieked before bolting out of bed, her shirt getting snagged on her pink panties which Naruto was able to get full view of.

 _'Awesome...'_ Naruto thought.

Sakura dashed out of the living room and slammed the door behind her to her 1st floor bedroom just down the hall.

"So...Naruto...have fun last night, did we?" Itachi smirked as he gently nudged Naruto with his elbow.

"I guess so. Arabian Nights was an okay film." Naruto shrugged.

"I don't mean that." Itachi said before pointing to the bed he had slept on.

"Oh...OH!" Naruto said, finally realizing what Itachi was eluding to. "No, it's not like that. Nothing happened. Nothing like that."

"Oh...? Then why was she complaining she was sore?" Itachi knowingly questioned.

"That, um, she slept upright, on her knees."

Itachi snickered.

"Not like that!" Naruto exclaimed in embarrassment.

"Well then, how about you explain it to me." Itachi smirked before Sakura ran to the door.

"Going to work! Bye! Love you both!" She said quickly without thinking before dashing out the door.

Unfortunately, Naruto didn't pick up what she meant and Itachi wouldn't dare spoil the fun. "Yeah, see you Sakura-chan!" Naruto called out as he grabbed his trousers and pulled them up.

"Nothing happened, huh?" Itachi teased.

"No, why do you keep asking?" Naruto asked, wanting nothing more than a strong cup of coffee in the morning.

"Oh, nothing...here, I'll make a pot of coffee while you tell me what really happened last night."

"I would love that. But seriously, nothing happened. I beat up some punk, ran away, Sakura nearly hit me with her car and we came back here." Naruto said as Itachi led them both into the kitchen.

"Really? Then how come she slept with you?"

"I just...I felt better if there was someone sleeping beside me. I didn't expect her to join me on the couch bed."

"Hmm..." Itachi mumbled before he started preparing the percolator. "You know...she does like you, Naruto. Ever since you left, you and Sasuke were the only ones she would talk about."

"Really? I can see Sasuke, but she used to hate me."

"She never really hated you, you do know that. It was her way of playing hard to get."

"Really? Cause I asked her out so many times? What changed?"

"She was getting older and maturing. It wasn't an overnight change. She always said that you'd get reckless and get your friends hurt, but she still hoped you'd come back in one piece. Then when you did come back, that's when I noticed a change in both her and you."

"Really? What?" Naruto asked.

"Well...when she saw how the war had changed you, both physically and mentally, she seemed to grow fonder of you and I see that with each passing moment. But she's also worried about your mental well-being. She cares a lot about you and I wouldn't be surprised if this sort of thing..." Itachi paused, motioning to the couch bed. "Happens more often."

"So... wait, then she was serious about taking me on a date?" Naruto deduced, making Itachi stop dead in his tracks, his eyes going wide.

"Sakura asked you for a date?" Itachi asked in awe.

"Yeah, I think so. Happened last night when we just drove up. I thought she was joking." Naruto said.

"Naruto...knowing my sister as well as I do...she rarely if ever asks any guy for a date. Mostly it's her turning down every guy who asks her. If she asked you, then she's serious."

"Wait, really?" Naruto asked with genuine hope.

"Really. And I think this past night proved that she was willing to do anything for you."

"You're joking. For real's?"

"Wow you're as thick as ever...yes, for real." Itachi sighed.

"WHAT!?" Naruto screeched. Realizing his mistake.

"Ah...that was my ear." Itachi grumbled.

Naruto just slammed his forehead against the table. "I'm an idiot."

"Yes...but-"

"Man, I really screwed the pooch this time...here I thought she'd hate me for Sasuke getting killed."

"Naruto...listen to me. The fact that she even asked you means that she doesn't for starters. The next thing is...start looking around for places you'd both like and find something nice to wear. Did she say when?"

"No! She just said that she'd like to take me out for a date."

"Well, then it could be anytime. But don't panic...just be calm about it so you don't fuck it up."

"I didn't accept yet." Naruto said.

"So, I don't think she is planning one anyway."

"Are you going to accept? I have a hard time believing you wouldn't."

"Well yeah, of course I would."

"It hardly matters now anyway. She is off to work. So just ask her out when she gets back." Itachi said.

"Alright...yea, I will accept. It's what I've been wanting for years. Like hell I'd pass this up." Naruto declared.

"Good to hear. I think Sasuke would have wanted that. I know I would." Itachi smiled before plugging in the percolator. "But seeing as she's at work, what are you going to do in the meantime?"

"No idea. Maybe have the guys over. Or check in with my parents. Make sure that I don't have to turn myself in." Naruto shrugged.

"No need. Remember, my family is the police. They're not looking for you." Itachi waved off.

"Oh, that's good." Naruto said as the coffee finished pouring into the pot.

"They do, however, want you to come down to the station to ask you some questions regarding the incident. Your mom already explained the situation, but they still want your side of it. No rush, just at your earliest convenience."

"I think I'll get that out of the way now. Save everybody the grief." Naruto said as Itachi poured him a cup of coffee.

"Probably a good idea. Don't worry, they just wanna ask questions, not charge you with anything."

"No problem." Naruto took a sip of his coffee and smiled. The fresh drink was like nectar from the gods to his lips. The sun was shining. Sakura had apparently fallen for him while he wasn't looking. It was a new day.

* * *

Meanwhile, 200 miles east of the Hidden Leaf village, a resplendently dressed general looked down upon a man of the northern border to the Land of Fire. Upon his chest adorned many medals from his decades of service. In his mouth, he chewed on a wooden pipe handed down from his father, inscribed with a decorative red and white fan, the symbol of his house.

He studied the tiny tank and army figures laid out along the map and took a puff of his pipe.. Twelve figures stood at the northern most point of the Fire border to symbolize twelve companies. The 9th and 10th Division that would hold the line which the 11th had secured after the battle of Bloody January.

Suddenly, the door to his office swung open to reveal a very nervous lieutenant.

"General Uchiha, sir! We have a problem." He exclaimed.

"Spit it out, son." Fugaku said as he took out his pipe.

"An Axis mechanized division has broken through the front lines! They are heading for the Leaf with nothing to stop them!"

"WHAT?!" Fugaku roared. "Where are they coming from? East? West?"

"North, sir! They are coming with a large platoon of Tiger 2's, StuG 3's and...what appears to be a Maus."

General Fugaku froze when he heard that. "A Maus...the Tigers are bad enough, but a Maus..."

He then turned serious. "Mobilize every available division to intercept them from the West and alert Lord Minato. Division 11 is still there." He ordered.

"Yes, sir!" The aid said as he scurried off to the telegram room.

 _'Dear god...please hear this prayer...keep my family and the citizens of the Leaf safe...'_ Fugaku prayed in thought.

* * *

Back in the Leaf village, his daughter, Sakura, was enjoying a much slower day than she had the previous day at work. Mostly because today she was allowed to break for lunch. A fact that she relished after having to stand up for 3 hours straight with sore knees and a sore back.

 _'Oh sweet Sage, why did I let him sleep on my lap?'_ Sakura thought to herself as she punched out for lunch.

 **BEEP BEEP**

"Hey, Forehead!" Ino called out from her truck.

"Hey Pig! What's up?" Sakura called back.

"I thought I'd take my favorite girlfriend out to lunch, but Hinata is gone, so do you want to come with me?" Ino joked.

"Oh very funny. Did it take you all night to come up with that one?" Sakura joked as she climbed in.

"Better part of the morning, actually. I missed you this morning for the car pool." Ino said as they sped away.

"Yea, I kinda slept in after what happened last night."

"I figured. I honked my horn a few times before I really disturbed the neighbors."

"Didn't even hear you, honestly."

"Yeah, what happened to you last night between you dropping me off and now? Did you hear about Naruto?"

"Heard about it? I almost hit him with my car on the way home."

"You what?" Ino asked.

"Yea. He ran right in front of my car going down Lightning St. He's lucky that I didn't hit him. Ak, Damn back..."

"You alright?" Ino asked.

"Yea...damn back and knees are sore after I brought Naruto to my house last night."

That sudden bit of information made Ino slam on her brakes, bringing the truck to a screeching halt.

"ACK! What the fuck Ino?!" Sakura shrieked.

"Oh my gosh, Sakura, I'm so happy for you!" Ino squealed as she reached over to hug her.

"Eh...? For what?"

"We can finally share stories. How was it? Is Naruto a good kisser? Did he go down on you? How many times did you two go at it?"

"Did he...WOAH! Nooo nononono...we didn't do that." Sakura exclaimed in embarrassment. "Even though I wanted him to...kinda..."

"Uh huh, sure. Cause your legs and back just happened to cramp up now?" Ino teased.

"Well that was my own dumb fault. Just drive and I'll explain everything." Sakura said.

"I'm already driving." Ino said before remembering that she had stopped. "Oh wait."

"I'm starting to wonder who the bigger Baka is here. Naruto, or you?" Sakura snickered.

"Maybe you have a type. You love to surround yourself with idiots." Ino laughed.

"Thank you for proving my point." Sakura smirked.

"You're welcome, bitch." Ino smirked as she rounded the corner.

"Anyway, to explain what happened, Naruto ran out in front of me last night. I get him into my car after I noticed that he was covered in blood. He proceeded to tell me that he killed someone but later found out he didn't. I'll tell you that in a second. Anyway, I get him to my house and I send him into the bathroom to get cleaned up. I called his mom to get more details on the subject and found out that he beat the shit out of some punk who smacked Karin in the face."

"I heard. Lady Kushina called me to ask if I had seen Naruto last night."

"Yea, that kid was one of my runs earlier. Naruto really fucked him up good." Sakura snickered.

"Good. Anyone who hits that cutie Karin deserves worse." Ino stated.

"I agree. Anyway, Kushina left Naruto in my care for a few nights so he's staying with me for a while until this whole thing blows over. Will something happen? It's possible. But anyway, I set up the pullout sofa bed and make it up for him. I figured I'm all set...till he asked me to sleep with him..."

"Woohoohooo, Naruto has gotten bold." Ino smirked.

"Wait, you said that you two didn't sleep together?"

"We slept together, but we didn't have sex." Sakura clarified.

"How is that possible? Here is a strapping young man with a soldier's body who is crazy about you before he even liked girls. And you, the modestly attractive young doctor who is always stressed and recently noticed said young man." Ino stated.

"He thinks I blame him for Sasuke's death..." Sakura sighed sadly.

"Come on, Sakura, we both know that it's more than that."

"He blames himself and from what I gather, he doesn't see himself as worthy enough to be with me. And he confirmed that to me last night as we spoke after he got done talking to his mother."

"I still have my doubts, but alright." Ino shrugged.

"Well, anyway. He only asked me to stay with him because he sleeps better with others around him. Probably from being in the army." Sakura deduced.

"And you didn't offer him the goods because?"

"Because, Pig, I want to date the guy before I fuck him. I have standards you know."

"Well he is going to be gone in a few days to fight the war again. What happens if you never see him again?"

That's when Sakura paused in horror of the thought. "Oh shit...I never thought of that..."

"No you didn't, but thankfully for the both of us I happen to be the brains of our little duo and considered it for you." Ino smirked as she came to a stop in front of Fat Anko's Dango Shop.

"That means it's do or don't...I don't know if I can bring myself to do that..."

"I know. So I thought of a perfect solution to your dilemma." Ino said as she exited her vehicle.

"Okay...What would that be?" Sakura asked as she got out.

"I'll tell you inside." Ino smirked as she entered the 449-year-old establishment.

"Hello, and welcome to Fat Anko's." A cheerful teen girl in a paper hat greeted them.

"Table for two. Non-smoking please." Ino said.

"Of course. Seat wherever on the right side." The girl smiled. Sakura and Ino then took a booth seat next to the window.

"Alright, so what's your plan?" Sakura asked.

"My plan is too enjoy my cheat day by having the most sinfully delicious dango this joint has to offer." Ino said as she looked over the menu.

"I meant your plan for me and Naruto. What exactly is your plan for that?"

"Oh I had been toying around with this plan for a while now. You remember The Nine Tails?" Ino smirked.

"The club with the bands?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah, remember how we all went there for everyone's 18th? I thought we could go again once all the boys had returned." Ino said, now feeling sad after being reminded that their circle am of friends would never truly be whole again.

"I see..." Sakura said sadly, understanding Ino's sadness.

"Yeah, so the plan still stands. We could grab Tenten and Temari and invite the boys to a night of dancing for fun. It'd be the perfect atmosphere for you and Naruto to really get close." Ino smiled.

"That's not a bad idea, but will be go?" Sakura asked

"I've already spread the word to most if the group. They've all agreed to come. Naruto wouldn't refuse even if he wanted to." Ino smirked.

Sakura shrugged. "Alright then. Better than my plan."

"And what was your plan?" Ino curiously asked.

"Come out of the shower completely naked for him."

"Woah girl!" Ino cheered.

"Yea, I was gonna do that but this is a better idea."

"Was this going to be after your first date or just one night before you go to bed?"

"Both."

"Well put a pin in that idea. If all goes well you could do that too."

Sakura mulled it over for a second. "Yea...I probably still could. But then again, I don't want to scare the poor Baka." She giggled.

"Eh...he'll get over it." Ino waved off just as the server came to take their order.

"Hello. What can I get for you today?" The waitress asked.

* * *

As they were ordering, back at the Uchiha compound, the boys had all gathered together in the basement to take advantage of the Uchiha pool table.

Naruto, Shikamaru, Kiba, Lee, and Choji all gathered around the green felt table with pool cues in hand and Lucky Strikes between their teeth.

"You guys sure you don't mind playing 3 on 2?" Naruto asked Shikamaru and Choji as the blond dusted chalk onto the tip of his cue.

"Nah, its fine." Choji waved off.

"Alright, just don't complain when we win the pot." Lee smirked as he racked up the balls.

"You guys..." Naruto started. "Something awesome and completely unexpected happened last night."

"What? Did your mom become single?" Kiba smirked.

"No you ass." Naruto grumbled. "She wouldn't go for some immature dick like you anyway."

"So what did happen?" Lee asked.

"I slept with Sakura-chan. In the same bed." He said proudly.

"Bullshit." Kiba said.

"No seriously. Just ask Itachi." Naruto affirmed.

"I think I will because this sounds like a load of bull." Kiba said before marching upstairs.

"Yes he did, I walked in on them this morning!" Itachi called out from kitchen.

At that, Kiba stopped dead in his tracks, Lee spit out his soda, Choji dropped his bag of chips and Shikamaru dropped his pool cue.

Kiba then trotted back down the stairs and put his hand on Naruto's shoulders.

"Naruto...are you...a man now?" He said all sarcastic and teary eyed.

"I didn't have sex with her if that's what you're asking."

"Oh you fucking virgin, why not?" Kiba cried.

"There's a reason..." Naruto said calmly.

For the next 10 minutes, Naruto told everyone what happened the night before all the way up to him waking up and Itachi explaining the recent changes in Sakura.

"Okay, but that doesn't explain why you didn't have sex with her." Kiba stated at the end of it.

"A part of me wanted to...but I respect her too much to take advantage of her like that."

"Good on you, Naruto." Lee gave a thumbs-up.

"Yeah, seriously." Shikamaru agreed. "And it seems that after all this time, she finally feels the same way about you."

"I know, right? And all it took was for me to go to war." Naruto smirked.

"Well congrats regardless." Shikamaru praised. Their moment of happiness was cut short when they heard the city sirens blaring. It was the emergency warning system for when the city was either under attack or in danger.

"Oh no..." Kiba breathed out.

"Get moving boys! Get to the barracks and suit up!" Shikamaru ordered,

"Itachi, were going to need to borrow your car!" Naruto shouted.

"Go for it! Just be careful with the clutch!" Itachi called out.

One by one, the men of division 11 bolted out of the house, Naruto catching Itachi's keys as they ran out. Once outside, the air was thick with the sound of sirens blaring. Troops from other divisions were swarming the streets while the civilians ran for cover.

"What the Hell's going on?" Naruto asked.

"Doesn't matter. We need to report to the barracks immediately." Shikamaru ordered just as they rounded the corner and stopped when they saw Itachi's car.

"A Model T?! We all can't fit in that!" Kiba bellowed.

"Make do! Now move!" Shikamaru ordered.

One by one the boys hoped into the two available seats. One for the driver and one for the passenger. Lee and Shikamaru scrunched together in the passenger seat while Kiba and Choji hung off the edge and Naruto took the steering wheel.

"Kiba! Get out and crank it!" Naruto bellowed.

"Crank it?! Stupid old car!" Kiba jumped out and did just that.

Slowly but surely, the old timer of a car cranked to life.

"Go! Go!" Kiba cried. Naruto reversed and gunned it down the drive way.

"Not without me you idiot!" Kiba shouted as he ran after the car, just barely managing to jump aboard before they sped off down the road.

* * *

Back at the Dango shop, Sakura and Ino were scrambling to get everyone in there to calmly get to a safe location.

They directed everyone to the bomb shelters and dashed to their own car. They needed to get back to the hospital as quickly as possible.

As soon as they made it to the car door, a model-T came barreling down the street.

"Itachi?" Sakura thought aloud before the car came close enough to see that Naruto was driving it along with the rest of the guys. Then it zoomed past then without even slowing down.

"Oh god...If they're going then it must be serious." Ino said.

"Turn on the radio." Sakura said.

Ino did just that and turned the radio on to the emergency broadcast channel.

"-safety. I repeat, this is not a drill." They heard Minato say over the radio. "A wave of Axis tanks were spotted headed directly for the Leaf. I urge everyone to find a safe house or bunker immediately."

"Dear god...No..." Sakura gasped out.

"Sakura, hang on." Ino ordered before she sped off to the hospital.

"Preparations for defending the city are underway and General Uchiha is currently sending in every available platoon to intercept the Axis troops before they reach the city. I urge everyone not to panic in this situation. Find your loved ones and get yourself and them to safety."

"My father..."Sakura mumbled. "If we're in his hands, then we'll be okay..."

"Yeah. Your dad's a jerk. But he knows how to lead an army." Ino nodded.

"Yea...I still miss him, though."

"I know. Just focus on your job right now. That's what we all have to do." Ino reminded her.

* * *

Within 15 minutes, the boys had returned to the barracks and been reassigned to their original unit. Each of them were given a rifle and some ammo and sent immediately outside the village walls to defend it. They had no specific orders besides repel all invaders at any cost.

"The hell have those guys been doing since we left? Playing cards?" Kiba protested.

"More like sitting with their thumbs up their asses." Choji grunted as he placed his machine gun onto the tripod and cycled the chamber.

"Well it hardly matters now. Shikamaru, we're gonna need some shovels for foxholes if they seriously want us to defend this spot." Naruto said as he inspected the area their squad was to defend. Save for the type of trees, it was eerily similar to the battleground they had fought in January.

"We're gonna need a lot more than that." Shikamaru said as he read over the scout reports.

"What makes you say that?" Kiba asked as he passed out some grenades he had managed to snag before they headed outside the walls.

"Reading over these reports, there are 50 Tiger 2's, 30 StuG 3's and a Maus headed this way."

"The hell is a Maus?" Choji asked.

"The only heavy tank that could make our O-I tank look like a tinker toy..." Naruto said grimly.

"Shit, so what is the plan, Shika?" Kiba demanded.

"Lee, go spread the word amongst the other squads. Any commander challenges it, tell them I told you. Naruto, Kiba, go grab some guys and find as many shovels and anti-tank weapons as you can find. It's gonna be a long night." Shikamaru ordered.

"I have an idea." Choji said as he started walking away.

"Where are you going?" Naruto asked.

"You'll see!" Choji called back.

"Never mind Choji, now the rest of you, go!" Shikamaru ordered.

"Yes, sir!" They all called out. The men all ran off to complete their tasks. There was no hesitation or worries to be found amongst them. They had their team and they had their assignments. They were back in their element.

About half an hour later, anyone division 11 could find was hard at work at digging their trench until Shikamaru felt the ground vibrating.

"What in the Hell?"

He then heard the roar of a diesel engine and the sound of bushes and shrubs being crushed.

Shikamaru was about to call out that the enemy had arrived when he realized that the noise was coming from behind him. He turned around and saw a massive SPG with Choji riding on the barrel.

"Hey Shikamaru! Will this work?!" Choji called out.

"Where in the Hell did you get that?" Shikamaru cried out.

"Reserve platoon! It was just sitting around collecting dust and I figured we can use it!"

"I assume there is a crew inside there who actually know how to operate that tank." Shikamaru said.

"Well, duh. How else do you think I got it here?" Choji said as he jumped off the barrel. "It's the T92 we've been saving for a rainy day, and she's loaded with a full rack of HE shells."

Shikamaru considered this and gave the exterior of the tank a once over.

"Is this the only tank you could find?"

"The only one that can do any damage to a Maus."

"Is that so?" Shikamaru said as he placed a hand against the armor of the tank. "In that case, help me bury it."

"You got it!" Choji said before banging on the hull. "Alright, boys! Let's trench this bitch!"

"Um, maybe you use the dozer on the rear end?" Shikamaru suggested.

"Huh? Oh, right. Alright, boys! You heard the man!" Choji called.

As Shikamaru and Choji were busy working on the big gun, Naruto and the others were getting things organized with digging the fox holes in a V formation.

In the cold morning of early February Naruto, Kiba, and Lee and worked tirelessly to pierce the frozen earth with their spades. The forest outside of the Hidden Leaf village main gate being largely uncultivated, making it all the more difficult to dig into. Yet the men did not falter. Though their hands grew raw from abuse and their muscles ached they worked tirelessly to build their trenches as they had been trained. As they and other's dug trenches, still other soldiers from the city's defense and the men once on leave all ran back and forth from the interior of the city to grab supplies to back out to the trenches.

* * *

Back in the hospital, things were no less chaotic.

Nurses and doctors alike were scrambling around the hospital making preparations for war on their home front. Moving patients to a safer location and setting up triage tents in a remote location. All except for Sakura, Ino and Tsunade. Said three were in a private meeting to discuss the matter at hand.

"Now then...with that said, we need to be on our toes for any incoming wounded. Ino, I'm aware that you're a therapist, but I'm still going to need your help. Can I count on you?" Tsunade asked.

"Well, it's out of my norm...but I'll do what I can." Ino said.

"That's all I ask. In the meantime, I want you to report to the reserve base and await further instructions. Dismissed." Tsunade said, causing both Sakura and Ino to stand. "Sakura...wait a minute. There is something I want to discuss with you."

Sakura nodded and sat back down while Ino left the office and closed the door.

"It has come to my attention last night that a couple nights ago, you had unlocked your hidden Chakra. Is this true?" Tsunade asked.

"My...oh yeah. Yes, I did." Sakura confirmed.

"Can you call upon it at will?"

"I... haven't tried, but-"

"Try now." Tsunade ordered.

"I'm sorry, but what does this have to do with-"

"Just do it."

Sakura sighed. "Fine, I'll try." Sakura focused on searching her body for that energy she called upon a few nights ago. Being the smart woman she was, she remembered back to what enraged her that night. It wasn't long before her hands had a faint greenish blue glow to them. It wasn't nearly the same amount as before, but it was enough to prove that she did in fact discover Chakra control.

 _'Just as I thought. Even after only experiencing it once in her life, she can still manipulate her Chakra. She's just like her ancestor.'_ Tsunade thought before she started digging around in her desk. "This is an amazing find. I've talked to Minato and he agrees with what I'm about to give you."

"And what's that?" Sakura asked.

Tsunade pulled out what looked like 3 very old scrolls and placed them on her desk. "These right here will be your first lesson. They teach you how to create the long forgotten medical jutsu; the Mystic Palm Technique."

"Wait...you mean the technique the Second Hokage created?" Sakura asked in astonishment.

"The very same. Except this one is the perfected version that the 5th Hokage made. This one is by far more reliable, but it's also more difficult to master. However, knowing you and your talents, I'm sure you can have it down in a few days."

"Well, that's great and all...but don't we have more pressing matters to tend to?" Sakura asked.

"That can wait. This right here should be your primary focus. If you learn this, no doctor in the world will be able to match you."

"How...do you know this? Can you use it, too?" Sakura asked.

"That's not important right now."

"I think it is. I want to know what makes this so much more important than what's in front of us because right now this seems like a waste of time." Sakura said firmly.

Tsunade sighed. "You're just as stubborn as your ancestor and just as impatient..."

"Huh? How would you know that?"

"I had hoped to save this for later, but it seems I have no choice..." Tsunade sighed. "I know more about this jutsu than anyone else...do you know why?"

"Passed down to you by your ancestors?" Sakura guessed.

"No...Sakura, the Senju line ended with the 5th Hokage...she never bore a child so there were no more Senju's after her."

"But, your name is Tsunade Senju. Surely you are a descendant of her."

"I'm not a descendant of the 5th Hokage...because I am the 5th Hokage."

"EHH?! No way! You're just pulling my leg." Sakura said skeptically. "If that were true, you'd have to be-"

"Over 500 years old? Well honestly I'd say I don't look a day over 30." Tsunade smirked.

"Exactly. There's no way you could be that old. It's impossible." Sakura said matter-of-factly.

"I'll have you know that I was fighting in wars like this long before your ancestor was crapping her diapers, young lady." Tsunade snapped. " Hell, I even trained her in the medical arts. She was my top student. Not only did I teach her everything I knew, but she even came up with her own versions of my jutsu. Including the 100 hand seal that you see on my forehead now."

"Wait, I thought that was just a tattoo."

"It's not." Tsunade said before she activated her seal. Sakura started to see lines grow from it and spread all over her body like wild vines. It was something she had never seen before.

"Why are you telling me this now? Why tell me at all?" Sakura demanded.

Tsunade answered her by standing up, taking the scrolls in her hand and placing them on Sakura's lap. "Because I firmly believe that you can surpass even your ancestor. She had long surpassed me and I have little doubt that you can do the same." She then put her hand on Sakura's shoulder and smiled. "Study them hard. Be better than any medical shinobi ever was...I've lived long enough to see wars and students come and go and not a single one of them even came close to the bar you and your ancestor set...so I want you to set that bar even higher. Do that...and I'll teach you all of my secrets and even the secrets of medical ninjutsu that your ancestor never revealed to anyone but me. You've already made me proud and I want you to continue to do so."

Sakura looked at her boss, no...the 5th Hokage in person in awe. "You...really think I can?"

"I know you can...if you have even a fraction of the determination your ancestor had then you can do this." Tsunade smiled.

"B-but she was trained in chakra all her life. I only have the barest fraction of chakra."

"That's the thing about your line. You are gifted with exceptional chakra control. It's in your blood. Hell, your ancestor's chakra control was better than the 7th Hokage's and he was the freaking 9 tails Jinchuriki. You have the control already and one of those scrolls will teach you how to further increase your control."

"I just don't see where I will have the time between all my work and the preparation for this upcoming battle."

"If you have the determination, you'll make time. I believe in you Sakura...don't make me think otherwise. That's not the attitude of the talented young doctor I know so well."

"This just seems like a very odd time to tell me." Sakura stated.

"Well, perhaps. But then again...I'm not your typical person, now am I?" Tsunade joked.

"No, you're." Sakura said as she held up her scrolls. "I will check these our later." She said before dashing off.

 _'Make me proud, Sakura...like you did centuries ago...'_ Tsunade thought fondly.

Then Tsunade remembered something and ran to the doorway. "And don't tell anyone about what we just talked about!" She called to Sakura.

"I won't!" Sakura shouted as she ran to find Ino, who was busy putting together personal emergency med kits for the boys out front.

"Ino!" Sakura cried.

"What took you so long, Forehead? And... what's with the old scrolls?" Ino asked.

"Something Tsunade gave me. I think she's going crazy." Sakura said.

"Well, we've known that. Anyway, wanna help me set up these first aid kits for the guys?" Ino asked.

"Sure thing." Sakura said as she dove right into the work Ino already had underway.

She filled each med kit with everything that a soldier would need in a pinch. One instructional manual on how to use said kit, one morphine tartrate, eight sulfadiazine tablets, five envelopes of sulfanilamide powder to stop the growth of bacteria when sprinkled on an open wound, some field dressing, and a tourniquet to stop bleeding. All wrapped up in a convenient little pouch for soldiers to use on themselves while waiting for a medic.

"Well, I think that should do it." Sakura said confidently.

"Yup. All we need to do now is take them to the guys." Ino said.

"Wait, isn't there a courier for that?" Sakura asked.

"There is, but they're tied up at the moment. So, how about we make a little field trip?"

"Sounds great." Sakura said as she grabbed three crates full of med kits and carried them over to Ino's truck.

"Wait, what about the preparations we need to do here?" Sakura asked in realization.

"That's all taken care of. Plus, with all the field medics helping the doctors, we're kinda useless right now anyway." Ino waved off.

Ino then stacked her own pile of crates into the truck. "Come on, no sense in going without a full truck."

"Agreed." Sakura nodded as she went to grab more crates.

* * *

In no time at all the girls had filled the truck to the brim and driven off towards the developing front lines. By now the sun was setting and the woods outside the main gates had been completely transformed into a makeshift fortress. Trenches littered the forest floor. Men in uniform rushed around carrying guns, shovels, and ammo from one trench to another like startled ants. It was surreal.

 **BEEP BEEP** Ino honked the horn to grab the attention of someone in charge.

One on the MP's walked over to the truck with a rifle in hand. "This isn't a place for civilians. Please leave."

"We're doctors and we have med kits for all the soldiers." Ino explained.

The MP looked in the back and saw the various medical crates that had the medical symbol on it. "Alright, proceed to camp 11. That's where they're needed the most."

"And where is that?" Ino asked.

"Just right up the road. At the very front of the lines. They sent Division 11 up there. Poor bastards. Held the line for a month and now they gotta be the first to hold it again." The MP said.

"Okay." Ino said.

"Just look for the large tank." The MP added.

"A single tank? Sage of Six Paths, thanks." Ino said as she took off down the road.

500 yards later, the two young doctors had arrived at the front lines to the home front. Where the remnants of Division 11 could be seen digging trenches in a V formation with one SPG having its own private trench to maneuver around in.

"Jesus, that thing is huge!" Sakura exclaimed in awe.

"This whole operation is massive. I've never seen so many soldiers in one place." Ino said.

Their time to gawk was cut short by a knocking in the glass window. "Ino?"

"Shikamaru?" They both said at the same time as Ino rolled down her window.

"Well if it isn't the wonder twins. What are you two doing here?" Shikamaru asked.

"Bringing you medical supplies. Check out the back." Sakura said as she got out.

"Wouldn't those be better served in an aid station?" Shikamaru asked.

"She means med kits. One for every soldier." Ino corrected as she jumped out of the truck and opened up the back.

"HEY BOYS! MED KITS! COME AND GET THEM!" Ino cheered.

Like a heard of bison, they all came rushing to the truck to grab the med-kits. Ino started passing out crates to the soldiers. A few of whom couldn't pass up the chance to wolf whistle at her.

"Sakura-chan?" Sakura heard behind her.

Sakura turned around and there he stood, dressed on his full combat uniform with an M-1 Grand in one hand and a shovel in the other. He was caked in sweat and mud, but somehow, he looked better than Sakura had seen him in days.

"Naruto-kun...hey..." she said a little shyly.

All their friends stopped dead in their tracks when they heard what Sakura said.

"You brought us med kits? Thanks Sakura-chan." Naruto smiled as he reached behind her and grabbed one.

Sakura smiled. "Anytime."

"Hey, listen...I wanted to apologize for how I was acting about your date offer...Itachi explained it to me..." Naruto said sheepishly.

"Did he really? What did...he say exactly?"

"Enough that I have something very important to ask you." Naruto said seriously. For the second time in Sakura's life, she noticed just how taller Naruto was compared to her.

"Um...o-okay...what?" Sakura asked.

"After we win this battle...would you...like to go out with me? On a date?" Naruto asked nervously yet firmly.

Sakura felt her chest warm up. She didn't care that all of her friends were staring at them because she knew what she was gonna say and do.

"That makes about the 100th time you've asked me...and do you know what I'm gonna say?" She asked making Naruto nervous.

 _'Please say yes. Please say yes. Please say yes.'_ Naruto chanted in his head.

"Yes, Naruto. We'll go on that date." Sakura smiled with a blush on her face.

Naruto's eyes shot wide open as if to look at Sakura for the very first time. Her smile on her face, her eyes glowing in the sunset along with her hair. She looked so beautiful.

"YEAH NARUTO! WHOOO!" Kiba cheered along with the rest of the men in the platoon.

"W-wait...seriously?" Naruto breathed out in shock.

"Yes, you Baka." Sakura giggled. "I told you I was serious about giving you that date."

Naruto's look of surprise soon turned into a grin, splitting his face from ear to ear before he scooped up Sakura into a bone crushing hug and twirled her around. "Hell yeah!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Ack! N-naruto...too tight..." Sakura wheezed.

"Don't care, too happy!" Naruto exclaimed.

Sakura just rolled her eyes. "Well...you better win this thing...and just to give you an incentive..." She leaned her head in and planted a soft but brief kiss on his lips.

"Oh man, the Axis doesn't have enough men now." Naruto said.

"Good. Take me on a really amazing date and you'll get more. You hear?"

"You know it. Whatever you want Sakura-chan. Candlelight dinner at the classiest joint in the Leaf? Boat ride down the park river with just the two of us? You name it." Naruto stated, his smile like a thousand-watt bulb.

Sakura thought about it and remembered something Ino told her. "How about the 9 Tails dance hall? Ino wanted to invite you and the entire gang out for a night of dancing, and I would love for you to take me."

"Consider it done." Naruto grinned.

"Good. Now do your job. I'll be waiting for you." Sakura smirked, feeling more and more confident now that she had finally gotten her worries off her chest.

"Yes, ma'am." Naruto smiled, having a similar feeling as Sakura.

All their friends present couldn't help but look on with smirks on their faces. This was it. This was what they were all fighting for in this war. A chance at life and love.

"Alright, love birds. Break it up." Kakashi clapped to get his men's attention.

"Sorry, sir." Naruto said sheepishly before putting Sakura back down.

"It's alright. I was in the same boat as you not long ago. Now I have a family of 5 to come home to." Kakashi waved off.

"So save this for when you're on leave."

"Yes, sir." Naruto nodded. He started to walk away, but not before Sakura pulled him in for one last kiss.

"That was because I wanted another one. Now get to work." Sakura winked.

"Ahem..." Ino playfully said to get Sakura's attention. "All the med kits are unloaded. We don't have to be here anymore."

"Right." Sakura smiled as she practically skipped back to the truck, feeling light as air.

"What? We don't get kisses for good luck?" Kiba joked.

"Not from me you're not." Sakura said.

"Well maybe from me." Ino teased.

"No time. We've got work to do." Kakashi said.

"Hold on. Choji! Come here!" Ino shouted.

"Huh? What for?" Choji asked.

"Just get over here." Ino giggled.

Choji shrugged and walked over to Ino. As soon as he was in arm's reach she wrapped her arm's around him and planted a big old kiss on his cheek. "You stay alive too. You and Shikamaru." Ino smirked.

"Um...s-sure, Ino..." A stunned Choji stammered.

"Just don't overthink it." Ino smiled as she patted Choji on the cheek before returning to her car. As soon as both her and Sakura were in, they drove off. Sakura couldn't help but squeal with joy as soon as she was sure they were out of earshot of the boy's.

Naruto also couldn't contain his giddiness at finally earning his date with Sakura-chan. He felt like he could leap over the moon. The anguish he had been harboring for weeks seemed to just float away. Who cared that the enemy was baring down upon them? Who cared about any imminent death that awaited them? He got his date with Sakura and a bunch of kisses from her too.

"Alright boys, you've had your show, now get on the line. No telling when or if the enemy could hit us!" Kakashi shouted out to the men still hooting and hollering at Naruto for getting the girl. "Two men to a hole! I want light and noise discipline from here on out! Sleep in shifts and prepare for anything!"

"Yes sir!" They all shouted before getting right to work.

Naruto grabbed his rifle and leapt into a foxhole with Kiba. Choji and Shikamaru took the hole next to them and Lee and another man from the company took the hole next to them. They kept their jabs and joking quite to not piss off the commander, but the mood was nothing but jubilant among Shikamaru's squad. Each of them feeling more relaxed than they had in weeks. Among all their brothers this was the best news any of them had heard since their enlistment.

"My man, Naruto. Finally getting some after all these years." Kiba smirked.

"I don't think anyone is happier than me over this. Except maybe Sakura-chan." Naruto said.

"You finally did it. I wouldn't believe it if I didn't see it." Shikamaru smirked.

"Yea, man. Sorry I doubted you earlier." Kiba said.

"Don't worry about it. I'm over the moon right now." Naruto smirked.

"Good to hear. We're proud of you, man. And I bet Sasuke is too." Shikamaru said.

"Right. Thanks." Naruto said.

"So are you gonna hit that on the first date or what? Cause she seemed pretty eager." Kiba said.

"Well...If she wants to then I guess so." Naruto shrugged.

"And what do you want?"

"I already got what I want. Her...She's all I ever wanted."

"Jesus man, that's such a beta male thing to say. It's gonna be a long, cold night and it would warm my heart to hear how you plan to fuck her." Kiba stated.

"Personally, I think you're just a hopeless pervert." Naruto said, making Shikamaru snicker.

"Aahh fuck you..." Kiba grumbled before lighting up a cigarette.

"What about you, Shika? I'm surprised that Temari let you out of her dungeon last night. How's that going?" Kiba asked.

"Well, you know how it is. She was kinda moody today so it's good to get some fresh air."

"Isn't she normally moody?" Naruto asked.

"More so than usual."

"You don't suppose she's knocked up, do you?" Kiba asked.

"I doubt it. We haven't been back long enough for her to show signs. It's just her time of the month I'll bet." Shikamaru said, not daring to reveal that he had accidentally broken Temari's favorite leather straps and she set him free only so she could buy new ones and check in with her father.

"Well alright. Just don't be surprised that when we come home from this that you have a kid running around." Kiba shrugged.

"I'd be more concerned about you coming back home to a kid you didn't plan on. What's this I hear from Choji about you guys unknowingly sleeping with hookers?"

Kiba just sweat dropped and turned away, not saying a word.

"I don't know. They seemed nice. Mine gave me my money back." Lee spoke up.

"That bad, huh?" Shikamaru joked.

"Bad? She gave it back afterwards." Lee clarified.

"It was a joke man. That's pretty awesome that you were able to screw her so well."

"I call bullshit." Choji said.

"Eh you're just jealous because you and Kiba had to pay." Lee smirked.

"So what did you do that was so damn good?"

"I don't know. I got off first before she did and it didn't seem right. So I just kept kissing her and exploring her until she started moaning too. A few hours and a few...other things later I paid her and she just handed the money back to me. She also gave me her card." Lee explained.

* * *

The boys continued to talk throughout the night, their conversation the only way to pass the time. Yet it could not stop the encroaching sense of dread each man felt as the night wore on. That thought in the back of every man's mind about the enemy coming closer with every minute that passed. The uncertainty as the higher ups kept news from trickling down to the men to keep them from growing relaxed or succumbing to fear.

For the civilians, even for Sakura, they went to bed knowing that any minute they could be awoken to their homes being under siege. For Sakura, it was a sobering thought that the man she had just confessed to could be fighting and dying while she slept or when she was working miles away.

By morning, the sense of jubilee had vanished. Everyone's minds could only focus on their own immediate task and the war that was approaching their doorstep. Naruto and his friends all awoke with their guns ready and their hearts lighter for having survived the night. Then the morning.

The veterans from the Battle of Bloody January ate their lunches fast, knowing just how catastrophic it was to lower their guard for even an instant.

Scouts were sent out with the afternoon and reported nothing by the evening.

The boys all gripped their rifles a little tighter that evening as the moon rose again.

The next morning was more of the same, as was the morning after that. Until finally on the evening of the 4th day, it happened.

"Flash! Allied Radio News reports...General Uchiha and his mechanized division successfully intercepted the rogue Axis division. Stopping them cold 100 miles north of the Land of Fire's capital city of the Hidden Leaf." The reporter on the radio announced.

"Alright!" The mean all cheered. The battle was won, but not the war. They could go home now and enjoy the rest of their leave.

"Man, that was anticlimactic." Lee said as he lit one of his Lucky Strikes.

"Who cares? I can see Sakura-chan and take her on that date!" Naruto cheered.

"Yeah, no shit. Now go get her, tiger." Kiba said as he stole a light from Lee.

* * *

Back at the Leaf, Sakura was finally able to read over Tsunade's scrolls and have been studying the first one for over an hour, on proper Chakra Control. As it turned out for her, Tsunade was right on the money on these scrolls. What's more, the handwriting was an exact match to what she had seen from recent medical reports.

"Hey, sis. You alright?" Itachi asked from her doorway.

"Oh, I'm fine." Sakura said as she rolled up the scrolls away from prying eyes.

"You haven't said anything in a few nights. Worried about Naruto?"

"Of course I am." Sakura said as she looked our longingly at the window. "This whole thing with the rogue enemy division is maddening. You'd think we would have heard something by now."

Sakura turned back to face her brother. "I don't know how or when...But I love him, Itachi...I can't imagine life if I lost him too."

Itachi just smiled knowingly at his sister. "You've got a big heart, Sakura. Only matched by your brain. You'd find a way to live, as painful as it is. But I wouldn't worry about that yet." Itachi smirked.

"What do you mean I shouldn't worry?" Sakura snapped.

"Well mostly because your dad already saved the day." Naruto said as he stepped out from behind the door frame into Sakura's room.

Sakura's face lit up like a 10,000-watt light bulb as she shot out of bed and tackled Naruto to the floor, smothering him with kisses and a big bear hug.

"Hey, hey, Sakura-chan, hold on!" Naruto laughed in between return every kiss Sakura sent his way.

"No way...I was so worried..." Sakura cried.

"Come on, Sakura-chan. You seriously think an army was gonna stop me from going on a date with you?" Naruto teased.

"Well...No, but I was still worried..."

"I'm kidding, Sakura-chan. I was scared too." Naruto admitted as he held her more tenderly than before.

"I'm gonna leave you two alone. I'll be in the den if you need me." Itachi said before leaving them.

If the two of them heard him, they didn't show it. They were both content with just holding each other on the floor. Until of course Naruto remembered what he came here to ask of Sakura.

He held her out arm's length away from him and never tore his gaze away from hers. "Sakura-chan?"

"Yeah?"

"I want to do this first date right at the dance hall." Naruto stated firmly.

Sakura smiled. "Good...I can't think of a better place."

"Yeah, and that means I don't want to see you until I pick you up later tonight. In the meantime, I want you to get all dressed up, the best dress you've got. And I'll go buy the swankiest suit a rifleman can afford. I wanna sweep you off your feet tonight." Naruto smirked.

"You playboy..." Sakura giggled. "Alright. See you then."

Sakura reluctantly rolled off of Naruto and sat up. "Just don't be late or else." Sakura playfully threatened.

"Wouldn't think of it and you know it. I'm not like my commander." Naruto smirked.

"I'll take your word on it. Now go, I need to prepare." Sakura said as she gleefully shoved Naruto out of her room.

"Alright." Naruto chuckled.

Naruto quickly turned around and gave Sakura a quick peck on the lips before heading down the hall to the stairs. Sakura watched him the whole while, swaying back and forth as giddy as a schoolgirl. As soon as he disappeared down the stairs, she ran back into her room and grabbed her telephone. Her fingers dashed across the dial as she dialed Ino's home phone number.

"Yamanaka Flow Shop. Ino speaking."

"Eeeeeeeeeeeiiiiiiii!" Sakura squealed into the phone.

"Ack!" Ino yelled out, moving the phone away from her ear. "Who is this?" She demanded.

"It's me, Ino-Pig. Naruto just asked me out." Sakura gushed in a very un-Sakura like fashion.

Now it was Ino's turn to squeal. Her voice was so high pitched that Sakura didn't even hear it over the phone.

"Oh my God! I'm so happy for you!" Ino squealed.

"Me too! Ino, I need your help. Naruto says that he wants the both of us to dress up fancy tonight. Except all my dresses suck or are too small." Sakura said.

"Say no more. I'll be there in 5 minutes with everything I've got." Ino said before she hung up the phone.

As this was happening, Naruto made it all the way down to the bottom of the stairs where Itachi was on the couch reading the daily newspaper on his father's recent success.

"So, am I going to have to call you my brother-in-law soon?" Itachi smirked as Naruto grabbed him by the collar.

"Itachi, help. I said I'd buy a nice suit for my date with Sakura-chan tonight but I don't know how too and my dad is gonna be at work all day. Help me!" Naruto hissed so that Sakura couldn't hear him.

"Woah, easy man. Yea, I'll give you a hand. We'll head over to Woolworth's and see what they've got."

"Please, this date needs to be perfect. I seriously love your sister more than I've ever loved any other girl." Naruto stated.

"Yes I know you do. And she loves you if you didn't hear her say that."

"Then let's go!" Naruto exclaimed as he grabbed Itachi by the arm and dragged him to the garage.

Itachi Pulled out of the driveway with Naruto and headed to the store. Not two seconds later, Ino pulled in the driveway with her dad's Jeep.

Ino leapt outside and was greeted at the door by Sakura.

"How many did you bring?" Sakura asked desperately

"Just a few dozen. If they don't fit, we can have them fitted at the dress shop."

"Whatever, just get in here. I don't know when Naruto will be back."

"I'm pretty sure I just saw him and Itachi drive off somewhere. I'd bet my sweet ass that they are going suit shopping. Which is weird, I'm pretty sure that by attending the army, Naruto is gift a set dress uniform for formal events." Ino said.

"Yea well. We both know he doesn't think that far ahead."

"Then I'm sure he'll figure it out eventually. Now get your butt up to your room. We need to knock that idiot's socks off." Ino smiled.

Ino and Sakura quickly retreated to Sakura's room. Ino laid the dresses out on Sakura's bed while the latter proceeded to strip down to her underwear before she noticed the dresses.

"Um...Ino. Those dresses won't work." Sakura stated.

"What are you talking about?" Ino asked.

Sakura took her bra off and then pointed to her chest then the dresses. "In care you forgot, I'm flat as a board."

"Damn, right. And we can't stuff your bra. Naruto will find out when he tears into you tonight." Ino said with a serious look on her face.

"God I hope he does..." Sakura sighed. "So, what do we do?"

"Well we get them adjusted like I said we would." Ino shrugged.

"Well, alright then..." Sakura shrugged as she picked up the first dress. It was a simple pink number, strapless and form hugging that seemed to come halfway down her thighs.

Ino whistled. "Not bad, what else looks good?"

"I think it looks too short..." Sakura said.

"You're going to want that if we will be dancing all night." Ino said.

"Yea well...the only eye candy I wanna be for is for Naruto. Not every perverted Joe schmo in the dance hall."

"One problem with that. If you look good to Naruto, then you look good to other guys too. Face facts, Forehead. You're hot." Ino stated.

"How am I hot? I have mosquito bite tits and an average looking body. You are far more well-endowed than I am."

"You have a pretty face, a great ass, and legs Naruto would die for." Ino countered.

Sakura took a minute to look at herself in the mirror and to look at what assets she had. "Well...maybe."

"And the second you walk into that dance hall with the War Hero Son of the 25th Hokage, everyone is going to ask who is this amazing girl. And you bet your sweet bippy that Naruto will stake his territory against any predators that comes howling." Ino smirked.

"Hmm..." Sakura looked at the dress, then the ones on the bed, then at herself in the mirror and then back at the dress. "I'll put this one aside for now. I wanna check out more."

"That's the spirit." Ino smiled.

"Hand me that blue one." Sakura said as she set the pink one aside.

* * *

Meanwhile, Itachi and Naruto had arrived at Woolworth's to find something for the blond idiot to wear. Once inside, they found endless amounts of casual wear, but not much on suits.

"Damn...they don't have much." Naruto stated.

"Well we can try Sears." Itachi suggested.

"Yea, let's do that." Naruto nodded.

Over the course of an hour, they had been to Woolworth's, Sears, Penny's, suit shops, just about everything that was there and they still couldn't find anything to suit Naruto's taste.

"Man...I'm so screwed..." Naruto groaned.

"Hey, we'll find one. Don't worry." Itachi assured before a thought occurred to him. "Wait, don't you have a military dress uniform?"

"My what? OH! Son of a bitch!"

"Just what I thought...alright, next stop your house." Itachi said before making a left out of market street.

* * *

On the other side of the city, Shikamaru was leading Temari to her "Valentine's Day surprise."

"You still haven't told me where we're going." Temari stated.

"Hence my referring to this as a surprise." Shikamaru smirked as he held Temari by the hand, letting every passerby know their secret.

"Shikamaru...we're supposed to be keeping this a secret..." Temari hissed.

"I thought you said you didn't care if we stopped hiding it?" Shikamaru smirked.

"I don't. But I'd rather not have my father or my brothers find out through gossiping shoppers." Temari stated.

"Oh don't worry about that. They won't know." Shikamaru waved off.

"Since when are you so laid back about the details, Mister Strategy and Tactics?" Temari mocked.

"Since I know something you don't." Shikamaru smirked.

"Is that right?" Temari smirked as the scenery started to turn familiar.

"Yup."

"Wait...why are we around here?" Temari hissed.

"You'll see."

Temari's eyes darted all around the shops surrounding her. There was the small diner that she ate at when she could not bring herself to cook. There was the baker and butcher where she purchased for her family bread, sweets, and meats. Over there was a flower stand selling red roses by the bouquet. And opposite that was a walled off section of a block with the symbol for the Hidden Sand Village. Her home since she was 14 years old. The Land of Wind Embassy.

"Shikamaru, no, I do not want to risk an argument with my father on Valentine's Day." Temari hissed, tugged at Shika's arm to lead him anywhere but there.

"We have to tell him, Temari. It's better we tell him now than him finding out through some random Joe Schmo." Shikamaru stated seriously.

"Okay, fine, just not today. Some other time." Temari said nervously, only to feel Shikamaru's hand against her cheek, forcing her to look at his determined eyes.

"Temari. My Division is moving out tomorrow. Your words got me thinking. And you're right. I don't want to live with what ifs and regrets. I want to live with you. To go out on dates with you in public. If that means standing up to your father and your brothers then so be it." Shikamaru stated.

"But...does it really have to be now?"

"Temari...you know as well as I do that there is a good chance that I won't return home. And if that happens...and by some chance you end up carrying a child from our rather steamy encounters, your dad is going to ask questions and make accusations. It's now or never, Temari."

"It doesn't have to be..." She whispered.

"I want it to be." Shikamaru countered.

Temari sighed quietly. "Alright...but just to warn you, my dad is a very intense man. Don't expect a warm welcome."

"The only warm welcome I need is from you."

"And you have it..." Temari sighed as he laid her head on his shoulder.

They continued to walk until they reached the front door to the Sand Embassy. "Shall we?" Shikamaru asked.

"Let's just get this over with..." Temari sighed.

Temari took out her house key and let them both in. The interior of the house was tastefully decorated in the style of home found in the Land of Winds. Tapestries adored the walls, telling the visual history of the Sand and the Land of Wind.

"Temari, is that you?" One of her brothers called out to her from the living room. Temari took a deep breath.

"Yea, it's me. Can...you get Gaara and father?" Temari called back.

"Father is in his study. What do you need them for?" Kankuro asked.

"Tell them...I want them to meet...my uh...b-boyfriend." Temari said hesitantly.

Kankuro popped his head out from behind the doorframe. "Oh boy, Father is gonna be pissed."

"N-now hold on a sec. He's one of the Army boys from Division 11. Maybe that will soften the blow."

"Division 11? you mean from Bloody January?" Kankuro exclaimed in shock.

"Yes, the very same." Temari said with a little hope in her tone.

Kankuro looked upon the man in question and smirked. "Well I'll be damned. She finally picked a good one."

"Wait, what do you mean by that?" Shikamaru asked.

"Oh come on. Like I'd let any schmuck date my baby sister. But a War Hero like from Bloody January? I'd be a fool to scoff at a guy like that." Kankuro said. "Name's Kankuro. Hope you impress my Dad."

"Shikamaru Nara." He nodded.

"Wait, you mean from the prestigious Nara clan?" Kankuro asked before turning to Temari. "Aren't we distantly related to the Nara Clan?"

"Kankuro, that was over 400 years ago. It hardly matters now." Temari scoffed.

"Right, right. Alright I'll be back." Kankuro said before heading off to find the rest of the family.

"Is it weird that everyone knows their family history from a few hundred years back?" Shikamaru asked.

"Maybe we pay more attention to our world's history." Temari shrugged.

"Whatever." Shikamaru shrugged.

After a few moments, they could hear 3 sets of footsteps walking down the hall. The both of them took the other's hand into theirs. Just as they did that, Kankuro rounded the corner, followed by a red headed man and a taller, gruffer looking man.

"Go easy on her, father. She's got a good one this time." Kankuro said.

"I'll be the judge of that." His father said before approaching Temari and Shikamaru. "What's your name, boy?" He demanded.

"Shikamaru Nara, sir." Shikamaru answered respectfully.

"A Nara, huh? Well, you're off to a good start. What do you do for a job?"

"I'm currently a squad leader in Army Division 11 Fox Company. Before the war I was studying History with a minor in Literature." Shikamaru stated.

That got the man's attention. "Army Division 11 you say?"

"Yes, sir. The same one that won the battle of Bloody January."

The man stroked his chin in contemplation. "And you say you're the squad leader for said division?"

"One of them, sir." Shikamaru clarified.

"Mmhmmm..."The man mumbled as he thought it all over. His daughter had brought home many boys over the years. Fast food workers, library snobs, hell even ditch diggers. But never a war hero, and a Nara at that. "How long have you two known each other?"

That was the question both Shikamaru and Temari were dreading. They had been seeing each other for well over 3 years. They have carefully kept that a secret for so long that if they told him the truth, it may piss him off. But not telling him and then finding out about it later would make matters worse. So, Shikamaru was the one who stepped up to the plate to confess.

"Honestly, sir...we've been seeing each other for over 3 years." Shikamaru admitted, expecting the worst.

"I knew it." Gaara said.

The man scowled before turning to his daughter. "So...you've been hiding this and lying about it this whole time, is that it? Thought I would never find out, huh?

"She was worried you would overreact and send her back to the Sand." Gaara explained.

"Gaara, be silent. She has a mouth and can respond without your help." He scolded.

Gaara remained silent and let his father continue.

"Well young lady? I'm waiting..."

Temari gave him a year filled nod, confirming her father's accusation.

"I see...well I think I should ship your ass back to the Sand for this. You know my rules."

Temari felt her world crumble around her. She knew this would happen. She just knew it.

Then her father's frown turned into a smirk. "If...It wasn't for the fact that you quite possibly found the best man any one of us could ever hope to find."

"What?" Temari asked, not sure if she heard that right.

"You heard me. I'd be a damn fool if I sent away this fine young man here. Yes you lied to me for 3 years and...Maybe I do overreact a bit sometimes. But this one is by far the best one you've brought home. In short, I wholeheartedly approve and I'm glad you two came clean with me."

"Oh Daddy!" Temari cried as she reached out and hugged her father for all he was worth.

"There, there...my little sand queen..." Her father said softly as he hugged her.

Shikamaru couldn't help but look on and smile. It was a great time to be alive right now.

"Thank you. Thank you for understanding." Temari cried.

"Well, hey. I'm not getting any younger and I wanna see grandkids sometime before I die." Her father joked.

"Daddy!" Temari playfully slapped her father's chest.

"What? It's an honest dream. Besides, it's not like I'm getting any from these two slackers." Her father said as he pointed to Gaara and Kankuro.

"Hey!" Kankuro cried as Gaara just shrugged his shoulders.

"So. Since you two have been dating for 3 years, when can I expect a ring on my daughter's finger?" The father asked.

"Um...well...since I go back to the front tomorrow-"

"Ah, say no more." The man waved off, interrupting Shikamaru.

"Uh, what?" Shikamaru asked.

"It's quite alright. You just come back in one piece, you hear? I want to see you put a ring on my little girl's finger."

Shikamaru nodded. "In time, I will."

"Good, because as soon as you propose the sooner I can expect some grandkids." Rasa smiled.

"Uh...right." Shikamaru said nervously. He wasn't sure if he wanted kids at all.

 _'Does my Dad not realize that we've already had sex?'_ Temari thought.

"So did you two do it yet?" Kankuro smirked, only to get smacked upside the head by his father.

"Fool! You do not ask such a question! Especially when it pertains to your sister!" Rasa scolded.

"Hey! It's an honest question!" Kankuro defended.

"It was idiotic. Of course Temari is smart enough not to have sex before marriage." Rasa stated.

"Yea...about that..." Temari said hesitantly.

Rasa froze. "Temari...please tell me you were smart enough to wait."

Temari just sighed heavily. "We've been in a sexual relationship for 2 years to the date..."

The three men all blinked a few times.

"God, no wonder you were so nice the year before this guy left." Kankuro pointed at Shikamaru.

Rasa sighed in exasperation, running his hand down his face. "Well that's not what I wanted to hear...but given the fact that you haven't had a child give me a reason to believe you've been playing it safe...right? Or do I have grandchildren that I don't know about?"

"None...that I know about yet." Temari admitted.

"And what does that last part mean?" Rasa demanded.

"It means we will know in a week." Gaara said bluntly.

Rasa threw up his hands in frustration and started to pace around. "So that means when he goes back to fight that you will MORE THAN LIKELY have a child during that time, is that it? What if he dies, Temari! How could you be so reckless?!"

"I...wasn't thinking. I just missed him so much, daddy." Temari cried.

"Well it's evident that you weren't thinking!" Rasa shouted.

Rasa then turned to Shikamaru. "You...for your sake and my daughters...you best make it home alive."

"Hey, if she wasn't thinking than neither was I." Shikamaru said as he stepped in between the father and daughter.

Rasa saw how serious Shikamaru was being. It was evident that he would protect Temari at any costs, even if it meant his own life. He then sighed defeatedly.

"Very well. Since I can't stop you two from seeing each other, I will accept you." Rasa stated.

"Thank you, daddy..." Temari said softly

"Just take care of my desert flower. Cherish her and never mistreat her." Rasa stated.

Well...shoulda seen this coming...my eyes are no longer perfect."

"I promise, sir. No matter what happens." Shikamaru stated.

Rasa smiled and held out his hand for Shikamaru.

Shikamaru shook Rasa's hand in a firm handshake.

"Well, this is cause for some celebration. I assume you have plans to take my daughter out for a Valentine's Dinner Date?" Rasa asked as he motioned everyone to follow him into the living room.

"Well, we were invited to a dance party with the rest of my friends." Shikamaru said.

"I see, you're both going dancing? Excellent. Just like the many times I took my late wife out dancing. Oh those were grand times." Rasa said fondly. "But I can't imagine that you would want to spend your dinner here with us. So I insist that you have a drink with us before you go." Rasa walked over to one of the bookshelves and grabbed a handful of glasses. "Kankuro, could you grab a bottle of Cheval Blanc 1922?"

"Yes, father." Kankuro said before walking away.

Rasa handed out the glasses to everyone. "You know we have a saying in my country of Wind."

"What's that?" Shikamaru asked.

"Alcohol is the enemy of the people. And therefore, it must be consumed." Rasa smiled as Kankuro returned with from the wine cellar with the requested bottle.

"Hey, I won't argue with that." Shikamaru shrugged.

Kankuro filled everyone's glasses and Rasa raised his glass. "To Shikamaru. May he have a long and happy life."

"I agree." Temari said fondly as she leaned into Shikamaru.

"And to the Allied Nations. May we crush the Axis and lead the world into a new era of peace." Rasa said as he tipped back his glass. They all rose their glasses to toast for a new beginning.

* * *

Meanwhile, in Sakura's room, Sakura and Ino were still busy trying to find the perfect dress.

"Ugh...We've been at this for an hour..." Sakura grumbled.

"And we expected it to take hours more. No one ever said that beauty was easy." Ino said, annoyed at Sakura's whining.

"Yea, Yea..." Sakura scoffed before she noticed a particular orange dress that she hadn't seen before. "What about that orange one?"

"Orange? Not really your color..." Ino said as she looked over the strapless silk cocktail dress the shimmered with orange and cream colors.

"But it is Naruto's and I know one thing... He'll drop his jaw if he sees me wearing his favorite color. Now toss it over here."

Ino shrugged and tossed over the dress.

Sakura gave it a once over and noticed that it looked like it would fit her perfectly. "Is this one of your old ones? The bust is a lot smaller than the others."

"Yeah, that was my prom dress in my sophomore year in High school." Ino nodded.

"Well this might do it." Sakura said as she put it on over her head.

As soon as she slipped it on and Ino did the zipper in the back, she immediately realized that it was a perfect fit. She filled every nook and cranny like it was tailored for her body.

"This is it..." Sakura breathed out.

"You know what? I stand corrected. You do look good in orange." Ino smirked.

"I know, right?" Sakura said as she twirled around, letting her dress flow.

"Ino, it's perfect!" Sakura squealed.

"You're right. Now we just need to find some shoes to match." Ino smiled just as the telephone rang.

"I got it." Sakura said as she picked up the phone she had in her room. "Uchiha residence. Sakura speaking."

"Sakura. It's Tsunade."

Sakura nearly tripled over herself. "Oh lady...I mean, Dr. Senju, what can I do for you?" She asked slightly nervously. After reading over one of those scrolls, she was more inclined to believe that her boss really was the 5th Hokage.

"I need some help down here and I don't have enough hands. Can you come in for a few hours?" Tsunade asked.

 _'Shit...'_ Sakura cursed mentally. "Well, I have plans this evening."

"And we'll be done by then. But I have word of casualties from General Uchiha's Division being transferred here in a few days and I need to free up some beds. That means performing surgeries a few days in advance. I need my best surgeon on staff." Tsunade said.

Sakura sighed heavily. "Alright...Just give me time to clean up and get ready."

"Alright, see you then. Oh, have you had a chance to look at those scrolls?"

"I have, yes. And...At first I didn't believe you...So I'm sorry I doubted you."

"Don't worry about it. Tell me what you've learned when you get here." Tsunade said before hanging up.

"Shit, I gotta go." Sakura said.

"Go? Go where?" Ino asked.

"Go to work. Dr. Senju ordered me back there for a few hours." Sakura sighed.

"Are you serious? Aw man..." Ino pouted.

"Yeah...And I don't know if I'm gonna make it to the party on time...dammit."

"Yea, not to mention Naruto is supposed to pick you up for the party."

"Oh shit! I forgot about that!"

"Well, you better blaze through your work like you never have."

"I will, just cover for me if I can't make it home in time!" Sakura said as she rushed out the door.

"FOREHEAD, WAIT! YOU'RE NOT PROPERLY DRESSED!" Ino yelled out.

"Ah, shit!" Sakura cursed as she looked down at her frilly pink underwear.

* * *

As that was being sorted out, Shikamaru and Temari were out walking the streets together, the two of them clinging together like they never had before, unafraid of strangers looking upon them. Shikamaru had his arm wrapped protectively around Temari's waist, resting on her hip; while Temari was basically hugging Shikamaru's chest, her head resting against his shoulder. The both of them had never felt more at peace with one another.

So of course, Shikamaru's buddies just had to show up and ruin the moment. "Hey! Love birds!" Kiba called out, announcing his presence behind the pair.

"Kiba, what's up?" Shikamaru said happily.

"Sergeant. It's time for our...liberation of our comrade." Kiba smirked knowingly.

"Ah...Yes of course." Shikamaru nodded. "Temari, you up for a liberation mission?"

"Sorry, no, this sounds like one of your dumb ideas. And I do not want to get involved." Temari said.

"Oh not really." Shikamaru said before he leaned over to whisper their plan into her ear.

"Wow, that is dumber than I imagined." Temari said.

"How? He's a good friend of ours who probably won't get shipped back with us."

"Wait...Why not?" Temari asked.

"Was too close to a frag grenade... He's lucky he even survived." Kiba stated seriously.

"Oh..." Temari said sadly. "But that's not why I'm against the plan. If it backfires you all could all get in serious trouble."

"There is that risk...But we make similar risks on the field every day." Shikamaru said.

Temari just rolled her eyes. "Fine." She said before kissing him on the lips. "You go do your thing. Just don't be late for the dance hall tonight. Or else I won't forgive you." Temari smirked.

"Yea...I know your type of being unforgiving. And it usually ends with me in a dog collar and tied to a bed."

"I'm sorry, what was that?" Kiba asked.

"Never you mind. Unless you want to end up in the same way. Only difference is, Shikamaru will get to see me naked. You'll just be tired up and bleeding." Temari smirked.

"Wow, I didn't realize you two were into such, kinky things." Kiba smirked.

"Yea we are. Only difference is, Shikamaru doesn't pay me to screw him or tie him up." Temari smirked.

"I'd pay you to do that..." Kiba smirked as he stepped in close, only to get a fist to the nose from Shikamaru.

"Why do you egg him on like that?" Shikamaru asked.

"Because it's fun." Temari shrugged.

Shikamaru just rolled his eyes. "Right. I'll pick you up at 8."

"Don't be late, little boy." Temari smirked.

"Never." Shikamaru smirked as Temari brought him in for one last kiss before walking away, her hand lingering on his chin as she walked away.

Shikamaru smiled as Temari disappeared into the crowd. How a lucky stiff like him ever got with a woman like that always eluded him. Sighing at his good fortune, Shikamaru picked up Kiba off the ground.

"Come on you son of a bitch. Time to round up the rest of the gang."

"Wow...look at all the stars..." Kiba mumbled.

"Quit milking it. I broke your nose, not your brain." Shikamaru said as he dragged his delirious friend past some uninterested police officers.

* * *

Sometime later, Naruto and Itachi could be found in the Hokage mansion master bedroom with Itachi sitting on the bed looking amused, Naruto impatiently standing in front of a mirror, and his mother and sister fussing over where to pin Naruto's new ribbons onto his dress uniform.

"Maybe his Bloody January ribbon should go here?" Karin suggested.

"Does it really matter?" Naruto asked.

"Yes, it does." Kushina said. "No, up a little more, next to the other ones."

"But then it will be mixed in with the others and hard to see. No, I think it should go on the otherside." Karin insisted.

"Karin, who was pinning medals on your father's jacket for all these years? I think I know the proper protocol for the placement of service medals on dress uniforms." Kushina stated.

"Alright, fine..." Karin sighed.

"Are you two finally done?" Naruto asked, annoyed.

"Don't take that tone with your mother, young man." Kushina scolded before finishing up.

"Sorry, sorry." Naruto apologized.

"And you're done...you know I'm so proud of you..." Kushina said lovingly.

"Thanks mom." Naruto said as he stepped backwards and put his hat on. "So, how do I look?"

"Like a dweeb..." Karin snickered.

"Oh hush. You look extremely handsome, Naru-chan." Kushina gushed. She wasn't exaggerating. Dressed in his uniform, everything prim and proper, her son looked like he just stepped out of an army poster.

"Thanks mom. I hope Sakura-chan will like it."

"Oh please...don't tell me you're gonna ask her out again." Karin groaned. "You know she'll just reject you just as she always had."

"Oh is that right?" Naruto smirked. "You want to make a bet on it?"

"Pffft. I'll win and you know it." Karin scoffed.

"Well then you've got nothing to worry about, don't you?" Naruto replied.

"Yup. I bet...my entire life savings on you getting shot down again. that's 5000 Ryo."

"Well then you better pay up." Itachi said.

"What?" Karin asked.

"Sakura asked him out first." Itachi smirked.

"What? Bullshit." Karin cursed.

"Nope, it's true. I was there. Who would know better than her own brother?"

"Yeah, but I'd bet you're just gonna make her accept the date to win my money." Karin said.

"Sis, I'd give up all that money just to see the look on your face when I prove you wrong." Naruto stated.

Just then, they heard the doorbell ring.

"No way that is Sakura." Karin stated firmly.

Naruto bolted past her in a blur to go answer the door. But he thought he was gonna pick her up?

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto cried as he opened the door wide open for Lee and the rest of the gang.

"Nope, just us." Shikamaru said before he heard Karin laughing hysterically.

"SHUT UP, SQUIRT!" Naruto shouted.

"You owe me money!" Karin howled in laughter as she tried not to fumble down the stairs.

"I didn't bet anything and Sakura did agree to a date tonight!"

"Oh yea, she did, didn't she..." Shikamaru mumbled.

"She did. I take it now's the time though?" Naruto whispered.

"It's as good a times as any."

"Perfect. Just hope to be back in time to pick up Sakura-chan."

"You kidding? Five minutes in, five minutes out. We'll have time to pick-up some coffee and dango from Fat Anko's on the way back to your place." Kiba said.

"Oh give it a rest. You're never gonna date Sakura." Karin said, now growing annoyed.

"Oh yea?" Kiba smirked. "Ask anyone of us. We even saw them kiss."

Karin laughed again. "Yea right! Like that would ever happen! Hahaha!"

"Fine, don't believe him. It'll just make you more surprised when he proves you wrong." Choji stated.

"Oh please...give me a break." Karin scoffed.

"It's true." Shikamaru stated seriously.

"Guys, just drop it." Naruto said.

"Yea, we gotta go anyway." Lee said.

"Right." Naruto said as he stripped off his jacket and threw it at Karin's face. "Hang that up for me, would you? I'll need it for my date tonight."

"Yea, yea. Probably another date with your left hand." Karin snickered before taking his coat upstairs.

Naruto's eyes went wide and his mouth hung open. "Wha- When did she start using those kinds of jokes?"

"With my cousins at her school, she probably got it from them." Kiba sighed.

"Thus, keeping up the tradition of stuff we can blame you for." Shikamaru said.

"Yea...real funny..." Kiba grumbled.

"Ah, cheer up Kiba. We'll all buy you some dango after we liberate Neji." Lee said.

"Yea, you better."

The guys all laughed and patted each other on the back. They walked together like brothers, closer than they had ever been before. That was the funny thing about trauma, it brought people closer together.

After a few minutes of walking the streets, Choji had a thought. "Hey guys?"

"What's up?" Shikamaru asked.

"Doesn't this remind you of something? They way were all walking?" Choji asked, pointing out each of them walking near shoulder to shoulder in a line.

"Hmm...Not really." Naruto mused.

"Oh come on, this doesn't remind you of that one time in mid-January when we were on that patrol?" Choji asked.

"Oh yeah! I remember now!" Kiba said in realization.

"Yeah, the fighting had dulled for a bit so our commander sent our squad out to scout ahead." Naruto said.

"Us and that Jin guy. The one with the lips protruding past his nose." Kiba laughed.

"Oh god...that guy was ugly as sin." Shikamaru laughed.

"Yeah, whatever happened to that guy?" Naruto asked.

"We had to leave him behind after he took a bullet to the neck and there was a hail of enemy machine gun fire between us and him.

"Oh...that's right..." Naruto said sadly.

"What the Hell was that kid's name? I know we called him Jin, but he hated that." Choji said.

"I don't recall." Shikamaru admitted.

"Me either." Kiba said.

"That's a shame. He was a good kid." Choji said. "Not even old enough to buy a beer."

"Such is the life of being in the Military..." Shikamaru sighed.

"What life? Jin was in training with us for half a year, he spends 2 weeks of fighting and makes one dumb mistake." Naruto said.

"And sometimes that's all it takes." Lee said.

"It shouldn't." Naruto said.

"Well, whether it should or shouldn't is irrelevant. We gotta focus on the here and now." Shikamaru said.

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

"Anyway, we gotta pull this off discretely. So, here's the plan..." Shikamaru said before he went onto explaining his plan.

* * *

As Shikamaru was doing that, Sakura was up to her elbows in another man's guts.

"Clamp." Sakura ordered.

A nearby nurse handed Sakura a clamp used to clamp down arteries.

"Use the clamp..." Sakura clarified in annoyance.

An older nurse grabbed the clamp out of the other nurse's hands and applied the metal tool onto the requested artery.

"Thank you." Sakura said as she started finishing up.

After a few moments, Sakura was done with her surgery.

"And that's the last one...Shizune, sew him up." Sakura ordered.

"Yes doctor." Shizune said as she got to work.

Sakura took this moment to strip off her gloves and mask. After nearly 2 hours of nothing but surgeries, she was finally able to take a breather.

"Good work everyone." Sakura sighed.

Sakura then turned to the new nurse. "Kina...please come here."

The nurse known as Kina nervously walked over to Sakura. "Yes, doctor?"

"Next time...when I ask for a clamp, don't hand it to me. Use it where I need it." Sakura quietly scolded.

"I-I'm sorry, doctor...I just started here." Kina said nervously.

"That's no excuse. You were taught how to operate during a surgery. I expect you to remember that."

"Yes, doctor." The nurse said shamefully as she looked at her feet.

Sakura sighed. "Your last name is Sarutobi, right?"

"Y-yes, ma'am." Kina replied.

"Well, miss Sarutobi. I hope that you will improve by the time you enter the next operation with me. I'm more forgiving than Doctor Senju."

"T-thank you, doctor." The girl exclaimed, feeling so relieved.

"Forget it. Now help the others." Sakura ordered.

"Yes, doctor." The nurse bowed before dashing off to help with clean up.

Sakura walked into the next room and stripped herself of her scrubs. Once that was done, she proceeded to do some last-minute rounds before her time was up.

 _'Once I'm done with these rounds then I can head home to get ready for our date!'_ She thought giddily. Never in her life did she ever think she would relish the chance to go on a date with Naruto. But somehow, over the course of this week, she fell for him harder than a sack of hot potatoes. Even with Sasuke's death still weighing heavily on her mind, she was happy that she could bring back the old Naruto.

 _'Just you wait, Naruto. When you see me in that dress...you'll flip your lid.'_ Sakura thought giddily.

That's when she saw 5 men carrying another man out of a patients room. A room that had a patient that shouldn't be up and about.

"What the...? HEY!" Sakura called out.

 _'Shit!'_ The men all collectively thought.

"Leg it!" One cried, prompting the others to run down the hall, carrying their patient body over their shoulders.

"GET BACK HERE BEFORE I BREAK YOUR LEGS!" Sakura yelled out before giving chase.

"Fucking run!" Another man screamed as the rounded a corner.

"Wait a minute... That's Sakura-chan." The blond one announced in realization.

"What? Naruto!" Sakura cried as the guys all screeched to a halt, just long enough for Sakura to run up to Naruto and smack him right in the jaw.

"The Hell are you guys doing?!" Sakura growled before she noticed that they were carrying Neji. "Neji is still recovering from having 10lbs of shrapnel removed from his gut! Are you TRYING to kill him?!"

"Ugh... Sakura-chan, why are you here?" Naruto groaned.

"I was called in for a few hours but that's beside the point! Get Neji back to his room...Now..."

"No can do, Sakura-chan. We're liberating him." Lee said while Kiba helped Naruto up.

"Liberating...This isn't a prison, Lee! He's a patient who is still recovering!" Sakura snapped.

"Oh, come on. You guys keep him cooped up here all day. We're just letting our boy out to stretch his legs and get him fitted into his dress uniform." Kiba said.

"No, you're not. Don't make me call the MP'S...Because I will." Sakura threatened.

"Hey, hold on, Sakura-chan." Naruto said in surrender.

"You gonna put him back?" Sakura asked sternly.

"No, but we've got a really good reason. I swear." Naruto raised his hands.

Sakura rolled her eyes and sighed heavily. "Alright...I'll bite. But it better be a good one because if he tears his stitches..."

"Neji wants to go dancing with Tenten. And we knew the hospital wouldn't let him out anytime soon, so we decided to liberate him." Naruto explained simply.

Sakura mulled it over for a moment. "Dancing, huh? I mean, I understand that he wants to do that, but he'll have plenty of time to do that once he's healed. I put him on a 4-month medical leave."

"And what about us? Tonight's the last night we may get to hang out with our buddy for a while. If ever." Naruto added.

"So why can't you just do that here?" Sakura asked, not knowing the answer Tsunade had already given them.

"Come on, Sakura, how depressing is it to have a party in a hospital room." Kiba asked.

"Besides, Tsunade already told us we can't." Naruto added.

"Oh..." Sakura said, now feeling guilty of the situation. She took in a deep breath and sighed deeply. "Fine...Take him...But if anything happens to him or if this gets out that I let you take him and I lose my job then I'm ripping your asses off and mounting them on my wall."

"You don't have to tell me twice."

"Good." Sakura said as she patted him on the cheek. "Now, I have a few rounds to make and then I'm done. So pick me up in an hour. You hear?"

"You gonna be ready in an hour?" Naruto jokingly asked.

"Pfft...With Ino waiting at my place for me, I'll be ready in ten minutes. Oh, and just wait till you see what I'm gonna wear." Sakura playfully winked.

"Oh, you little vixen." Naruto purred.

"Only for you. Now get going before I change my mind."

"On it." Naruto said, throwing up a playful salute at Sakura and then leading the guys down the hall with Neji still on their shoulders.

 _'I love him...But he's gonna be the death of me.'_ Sakura thought.

As soon as Naruto and the guys were out of sight from Sakura, he whispered to them. "I love that girl. But she is gonna be the death of me."

"I don't wanna hear it." Shikamaru said. "You've been bellyaching for her to love you in return since we were kids and now you're gonna complain. Nothing ever pleases you."

"Do I look like I'm complaining." Naruto said as he turned back to show his ear to ear grin etched onto his cheeks.

"You're something else, you know that?" Shikamaru smirked as they made their way out of the hospital.

Unknown to any of them, a certain 500-year-old kunoichi had witnessed the entire thing. She had stuck to the shadows and easily out-maneuvered these glorified civilian versions of their originals. Still, Tsunade couldn't help but smile with pride as the boys walked out of the hospital, still valuing their friendship over everything.

 _'Somethings never change. Even after five hundred years.'_ Tsunade thought. She smiled remembering when she first saw all those boys again. She had just heard through the grape vine that the 25th Hokage had been chosen and bore the exact same name as the 4th. This would have been a fun little coincidence if he hadn't also announced his marriage to a Kushina Uzumaki. That intrigue was enough to make Tsunade come out of hiding again to serve the newest Hokage. A few weeks of interrogation and the unearthing of several highly-classified documents confirmed that Tsunade was in fact THE Tsunade Senju, the 5th Hokage who discovered the secret to immortal life. That put Tsunade right back at the head of the Medical Division in Konoha just in time for her to be there for the rebirths of all of the Konoha 12.

Eleven screaming babies later, she finally got to see her surrogate daughter again. That adorable little pudgy face with the tuff of pink hair on top. Knowingly looking up at her doctor who brought her into the world like she recognized her old mentor. Tsunade's heart shattered when Sakura cooed at her with those beautiful green eyes.

Her mind also couldn't help but wander back to when her ward had married an Uchiha. The same one who caused so much trouble before and during the 4th Shinobi War. How Sakura could marry a guy like that was beyond her but they somehow made it work. Now as she looked upon her predecessor several centuries later, she finally sees the love between her newest ward and the current Naruto Uzumaki. Something she had hope to see centuries ago. It gave her a sense of pride and joy just thinking about what they will be like after the war ends.

Tsunade wiped away her misty eyes. She had work to do. _'It will be a cold day in Hell when I miss that wedding.'_ Tsunade thought before leaving to take care of the rest of her duties.

* * *

About half an hour later, Sakura was back in her bedroom getting ready for her date. With help from Ino of course.

"Okay. This pair or these?" Sakura asked Ino as she held up two pairs of heels

"What are you going to church?" Ino asked sarcastically.

"What? Too formal?" Sakura asked.

"Too flat. You arc your heels up so his eyes trail up your legs and at the rest of you." Ino said.

"But these are the highest I have."

"Half an inch? Are you serious?"

"Yes. Why would I need anything taller?"

That's when they heard someone knocking on her door.

"Ah, shit, is that them!" Sakura cried.

"No, it's me." Itachi said from the other side of her door.

"Oh...come on in." Sakura said.

Itachi came in holding a small box in his hands. "I have something for you."

"What is it?" Sakura asked.

"It's something mother left for you...she said it was for when you finally find that special someone." Itachi said.

Sakura's eyes went wide. "M-mom...left this for me...? But...what is it?"

"I don't know. Father and I found it in the attic 12 years ago with a note attached to it." Itachi said before handing said note to Sakura.

Sakura took the note and began to read it.

 _Dear Sakura. If you are reading this, then that means I'm no longer with you. I hope you did not grieve too much from my passing. It is not what I would have wanted. Anyway, inside this box is a few things I wanted to pass onto you when you finally found that special someone. Please take care of them, and remember...I will always love you._

 _-Mebuki Haruno Uchiha._

Sakura sniffed as she finished reading the letter. Little raindrops fell onto the paper.

"Damn it, Itachi. You gotta do this now? Bring out something like this after we finished her make-up." Ino ranted as she came at Sakura with a box of tissues.

"It's fine, Ino..." Sakura sniffed as she took a tissue and dabbed her eyes.

"Thank you, Itachi." Sakura smiled.

"Of course, sis." Itachi smiled before he handed her the box.

Sakura opened the box and gasped at what she saw. She saw a pair of beautiful high heels, a necklace with pink diamonds and a charm bracelet.

"I wondered what happened to those." Itachi mused.

"They are incredible. They must be worth a fortune." Sakura gasped as she lifted them out of the box for Ino to see.

"According to mother, they have been in the family for generations. Not sure who had them first though." Itachi said.

"Woooow..." Ino breathed out in awe.

"Will these shoes work?" Sakura asked.

"Forehead, they're perfect." Ino said approvingly.

"You really think so?" Sakura asked as she slipped on the shoes and found them to be exactly her size.

"I don't even have shoes that nice. You'd be dumber than Naruto not to wear them." Ino said seriously.

"Fine, I'll wear them. What about you? Aren't you coming dancing too?" Sakura asked.

"Well, yeah. Of course, I am. But I know of a thing called fashionably late, so." Ino joked.

"Oh don't be that girl. I wanna dance with Naruto but I want you to be there too."

"Oh keep your panties on...at least until you bring Naruto home." Ino snickered. "I'll be there."

"Hopefully not when I bring him home." Sakura said.

"What? You're not gonna share?" Ino teased.

"Hell no! You get your own Army man!" Sakura laughed.

"Hey. When we were 14 we agreed that if one of us locked down a man before the other we'd do a 3-way. Remember?"

"INO-PIG!" Sakura screamed, completely embarrassed that she'd mention something like that in front of her brother.

Itachi just held up his hands. "I know nothing."

"QUIT BEING STINGY!" Ino shouted back.

"GET YOUR OWN MAN!" Sakura replied.

"Oh I will..." Ino smirked before eyeing Itachi.

"Meh, sure." Itachi shrugged his shoulders.

"WHA- You can't be serious!" Sakura shrieked.

"I'm not. Sorry, Ino. You're just not my type." Itachi said.

"No worries. I already asked Choji to escort me anyway." Ino smiled.

"EH!? So why did you ask Itachi?!" Sakura screeched.

"To get a rise out of you." Ino said like it was obvious.

Sakura just glared at Ino. "I hate you..."

"That's what you get for not sharing Naruto-kun." Ino shrugged.

"Yea yea..." Sakura grumbled just as they heard the doorbell ring.

"OH SHIT!" Sakura cursed.

"Relax, you're ready now." Ino pointed out.

"Why don't you get ready!"

"Oh relax. Choji isn't picking me up for another half hour. I got time."

"Fine, whatever, I'll see you then." Sakura said before hugging her best friend goodbye.

"Go get him. This may be your only chance." Ino said.

"Don't remind me. And don't be late." Sakura said.

"I'll try."

"Don't try. Do. This might be our last chance to be with all our friends." Sakura reminded her.

"I know. Now get going! Don't keep him waiting."

"Fine!" Sakura shouted as she grabbed her purse and headed downstairs. Her heart pounded as her feet hit the steps. She stopped at the front door to compose herself. She took a deep breath and finally opened the door.

There, in front of her, was none other than Naruto himself. Completely dappered out in his dress Army uniform.

"Hey Sakura...woah..." Naruto breathed out when he caught onto what Sakura was wearing.

He had never seen anything like it, much less on his beloved Sakura-chan. A shimmering dress of orange and cream that looked light as air yet still highlighted Sakura's petite figure. Her simple curves looked so elegant to Naruto, and the dress only made them more dazzling to the man. Two see through straps held up the dress that went down to Sakura's knees. She looked stunning, absolutely stunning. And with those shoes, a broach and a necklace, all of them emerald green to match her eyes. She looked like a movie star.

"Wooow..." Naruto gaped in awe.

Sakura giggled. "I take it you like it, huh?"

"I love it. I wanna take a picture so that I can keep you in my pocket." Naruto said without thinking.

"You can later." Sakura smiled.

"Right. So...shall we?" Naruto smiled as he held out his elbow.

"Yes, lets." Sakura said as she hooked her arm around his and leaned on his arm.

Naruto's smile grew even wider at the feeling of Sakura's body pressed against his, and Sakura just loved how big and strong his arm felt.

"It's kinda funny, isn't it?" Sakura asked as they walked away from her house.

"What is?"

"This...us...together going on a date...kinda funny how just a year ago I would never have even given it a brief thought, let alone consider it." Sakura said, still laying her head on his arm.

"Yeah...well... I was kind of a brat back then." Naruto admitted. Remembering what a cocky son of a bitch he used to be. All the boasting he used to do in front of the guys. Talking about his pranks, and getting with Sakura, and killing a thousand Axis soldiers before the rest of them could spit. He just wanted to step back in time and slug his younger self right in the face.

"But you brought something new from the monotony of everyday life...I guess I just didn't see it at the time until you came back."

"Maybe. What matters is the here and now though, right?"

"Right...but what I was saying was that I would have never even done this. Never would have crossed my mind...but this...us...it feels...right, ya know? Like it's supposed to be like this."

"Yeah, I completely agree." Naruto said. "I honestly never thought I'd make it out of that front alive. Much less see you again."

"Well I'm glad you did...and now you have even more incentive to come home alive."

"Damn straight." Naruto smirked as he nuzzled his nose into Sakura's neck.

Sakura giggled. "That tickles you Baka."

"Really? I was hoping it would make you squirm." Naruto huskily breathed into her ear.

Sakura knew what he was doing, but she said that to make him keep doing it. Evidently it worked. "It is..." Sakura breathed out. "You have no idea...how long I've been trying to hold it together..."

"I do. Cause I lied. Ten months of training...and I only had you to occupy my thoughts on my rare moments of privacy." Naruto admitted.

"Really...?" Sakura asked.

"Really." Naruto breathed into her ear. "You gonna smack me for being a pervert?"

"No...because...I was doing the same thing...but only this week..." Sakura admitted shamefully.

She could feel Naruto smiling against her skin. "I'm glad."

"But...it was because of what I walked in on a few days ago..."

"Hmmm? What did you walk in on?" Naruto asked, briefly broken out of his spell.

Sakura's cheeks turned red as she remembered watching a certain bun haired girl riding a bed ridden man at the hospital. "Never mind, it's not important." She squeaked.

"Oh come on. I wanna know now." Naruto pressed.

"Ummm...I...Don't really wanna talk about it...It's too embarrassing..."

"Oh, I think I know...You walked in on Neji and Tenten, right?" Naruto asked.

Sakura was completely stunned when the number one idiot in the city guessed correctly. "Wha-how did..."

"Neji told me." Naruto answered.

"Oh man..." Sakura groaned. "Yes...That's what happened...And I...Well...You know..."

"Yea I get it. It happens." Naruto shrugged off.

"I imagined it being...us..." Sakura admitted nervously.

Naruto paused before devious thoughts began circling his mind. "Oh really? And where did you imagine me? On the bottom letting you furiously thrust against me; or on top, where I was giving you the business?" He leered.

"Both, actually..."

"Woah, since when do you admit that so easily?" Naruto asked.

"Since I saw you in that torn and bloody uniform, yet standing proud like a hero from all the legends." Sakura admitted. The sight and the timber of his voice back then still making her wet.

"Then why don't we skip the main course and go for desert?" Naruto growled huskily.

"No." Sakura said firmly.

"Ah, but Sakura-chan..." Naruto whined.

"not right now." Sakura clarified. "Ideally I would like to date a few months before we do it...but seeing as your leaving tomorrow, you give me a date to remember and I'll give you a night to remember. Deal?"

Naruto pretended to think it over for a few seconds before planting a kiss right on his girlfriend's lips. "Deal."

Sakura felt like she was putty in his hands, but she wanted to push a little more out of him. "Come on, you call that a kiss?" Sakura teased.

"No, I call it a peck on the lips." Naruto stated, taking her words as a challenge. He grabbed her face and held it gently yet firmly. "This is a kiss."

He descended on her like a cobra, slow but surely. Tilting his head to its side he claimed her lips with his own. She found herself compelled to open her mouth wide and accept his tongue lightly exploring her mouth. Sakura fought back though, pushing her own tongue into his mouth. Tasting all that was Naruto. Feeling her head grow fuzzy as the seconds felt like minutes.

 _'Ooohh...Man... If this is a dream, don't wake me up...'_ Sakura thought in ecstasy. She was using all of her willpower not to take him right then and there.

Naruto then released her lips with an audible pop. Sakura just stood there, dizzy and giddy.

"Oh my god..." Sakura gasped. That was by far the best kiss she ever had.

"Be good on the date and you may get another one of those." Naruto smirked, using her own words against her.

"Oh, we better make this date quick..." Sakura breathed. She was really squirming now.

"Nope...I'm gonna make this one to remember." Naruto smirked. He had her wrapped around his finger now.

"Aahhhh...you're torturing me here..." Sakura whined.

 **BEEP BEEEEP** "Jesus! Do we need to drop you too off at a motel!?" Lee shouted from the driver's seat of his car.

"Oh zip it!" Naruto called out.

"Lee?" Sakura cried before she punched Naruto in the gut. "Ass, why didn't you tell me others were watching us?"

"Ugh, you didn't ask..." Naruto groaned.

"Ugh, whatever..." Sakura huffed. She was too hot and horny to care.

She took his arm again and they both made their way into the car and found it filled with all their friends.

"Hey, Sakura." Tenten smiled from the back.

"Hey." Sakura waved. She still couldn't look her in the eye.

"Thanks for letting Neji get out of that hospital." Tenten said as she hugged Neji's arm.

"Think nothing of it...Just don't get me into trouble."

"Wouldn't dream of it." Neji said.

"I hope not. I don't wanna lose my job." Sakura stated seriously

"Okay, we promise we won't ever tell." Tenten raised up her hands.

"Good...alright let's get going."

"We will as soon as you scooch over." Kiba said, motioning over to Naruto who was still standing outside the car.

"Oh, oops" Sakurai said sheepishly as she slid over more. Naruto stepped in and snuggled closer to his date. Just by having him so close to her, she snuggled into his chest, the only sound known to her then and there was his breathing and heartbeat.

"Damn, man...how did you make her fall for you so hard?" Kiba asked.

"Animal magnetism." Naruto smirked.

"Yeah, sure." Kiba scoffed.

"Love works in funny ways, Kiba. One day you'll learn that." Sakura said softly. She loved her man pillow.

"I'm sure. Lee, we gotta get our own dates when we get inside. You and me, each other's wingman." Kiba pounded Lee on the shoulder.

"Not if it means paying them like last time." Lee grumbled.

"Hey, I thought they were regular girls. I said I was sorry." Kiba narrowed his eyes.

"Well at least she paid me."

"Huh? I thought she just gave you your money back."

"Plus interest." Lee smirked as he put his Suburban in gear.

"Also, I asked her to the dance and she said yes." Lee added.

"Oh bullshit!" Kiba cried.

"You'll see when we get there."

"Well, good for you, Lee. I'm glad you found someone." Tenten smiled.

"Yeah, a hooker." Kiba muttered.

"AH, SHIT!" Naruto cried out, making everyone jump.

"What?" Sakura asked.

"I completely forgot something. I need to get to a telephone." Naruto said, leaning over the seats to get right in Lee's ear.

"Naruto, what's up?" Sakura asked again.

"Here, pull up right there!" Naruto pointed at the nearest phone booth. Lee shrugged and pulled up next to the curb

"Wait, right here, Sakura-chan." Naruto said before hopping out and dashing into the phone booth. He pulled out his wallet and the piece of paper he had kept in it for a week. He inserted a couple of coins and dialed the number.

While the phone rang, Sakura was left in the car with the others feeling flabbergasted. "Um, what is going on?" She asked no one in particular.

"No idea." They all answered

Sakura grew frustrated and kicked open the car door to let herself out. She walked around the car to see Naruto hunched over the phone, speaking intimately to it.

"No I haven't forgotten about you. Just some things came up out of nowhere." Naruto explained. "Yes, besides the whole battle thing." He laughed.

"What in the fuck...NARUTO!" Sakura hollered, clearly pissed off.

"Huh, Sakura-chan?" Naruto turned when he saw his new girlfriend looking at him more pissed off than when his mother caught him painting all the Hokage monuments.

"Who the hell are you talking to like that?!" Sakura demanded.

"Hold on, Fu." Naruto said into the phone before opening the booth door.

"Who the Hell is Fu?!" Sakura demanded

"Just this girl I met a few days ago." Naruto explained, feeling like he stood on the edge of a great a terrible abyss. "She's a refugee and doesn't have a lot of friends. So I wanted to invite her to come hang out with us."

"Really..." Sakura said as she folded her arms across her chest. "The way you were talking to her, it looks like she's more than just a friend."

"Well she's not. She's cute and sweet, but I literally forgot about her until now. Cause I was hoping you and Ino and the others could befriend her while I was away." Naruto admitted, going in all or nothing.

Sakura looked into his eyes to find any sort of deception. There wasn't any. "Alright. For your sake, you best be telling the truth."

"I'll prove it. Yeah, hold on a little longer Fu. We'll pick Fu up and it'll be just like I said it is." Naruto promised.

"It better be. Because let me tell you what will happen...this date will end and you will not get another one from me. Ever." Sakura said firmly.

Naruto gulped. "Fu, you're hearing this right?"

"Put me on." Fu said.

Naruto held out the phone for Sakura.

Sakura took the phone and put it to her ear. "Yes?"

"Now listen...Naruto is cool and all, but he's not my type. He's just my friend who I owe a lot to. He saved me from getting hit by a car a few days ago. Okay?" Fu explained.

"Is that right? And how do I know that you aren't covering for him?" Sakura growled.

"Simple. Because I did ask him out and he told me that he had his heart set on another; you. And I'm not one to step on anyone's toes."

"Well excuse me if I'm skeptical." Sakura growled.

"Hey, be skeptical all you want. What I'm saying is the truth. He's more like a brother to me than a potential date."

"You never thought of dating him? Not even for a bit. You say that he's not handsome enough? He saved you from a car didn't he?"

"Yea, but when he told me he had his heart set on you I backed off that thought."

"Well he called you cute and sweet. What do you say to that?"

"I say it's flattering." Fu said simply.

"Fine. But I'll be watching you like a hawk." Sakura warned.

"Go for it. I'm gonna have my eye on that Kiba guy Naruto told me about. He sounds fun."

"Kiba? He's a total playboy creep." Sakura said.

"Well, that's what I've been told but I don't go by hearsay. Besides I'm just looking for a good time."

"Fine, it's your evening." Sakura said. "Where do you live anyway?"

"359 East Branch Ave. Near the old Hyuuga compound."

"We'll be there in 10-20 minutes. Depending on traffic." Sakura said.

"Alright, I'll be ready."

"See you then. Be so nice to meet you." Sakura said before hanging up.

"Well?" Naruto asked nervously.

"We are going to pick her up at her house." Sakura said with her arms crossed.

"Okay...where is that?"

"On West Branch Avenue." Sakura lied.

"Oh, okay." Naruto shrugged before turning back towards the car. "Hey Lee, we gotta go to West Branch Avenue." Naruto said before opening the passenger seat.

"West Branch? But that's clear on the other side of town." Lee said.

"Hey, Lee!" Sakura called out. "I misspoke. It's East Branch. 359 East Branch near the old Hyuga compound." Sakura said as she came up behind Naruto, her chest feeling much lighter. Naruto didn't challenge her about the address, i.e. he didn't know where Fu lived, i.e. they really were just friends.

"Oh that's better. That's just 5 blocks away." Lee said as he started his truck back up.

"Really? That close?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah, just a hop, skip, and a jump. Hang on." Lee said before speeding off.

The couple scooched into the seats next to Neji and Tenten before Sakura relaxed against Naruto's chest again, feeling completely relieved. Naruto was surprised by being forgiven so quickly, but decided to just accept it and enjoy it. Tenten raised an eyebrow on Sakura's change of attitude and leaned forward to give her a quizzical look.

Sakura peeked open her eye and saw Tenten staring at her. She responded with her own quizzical look.

Tenten then gave her a knowing look.

Sakura relented by giving Tenten a look like an admission of guilt, followed by a, _'you know why I did this and you would do the same.'_

Tenten replied with a look that said, _'no I wouldn't. I would trust Neji.'_

 _'Well you've been with Neji longer. Naruto met this girl before we got together so he might have don't something with her and lied about it. I had to test him.'_

 _'You're starting to sound like Temari.'_ Tenten narrowed her eyes at Sakura.

 _'Well maybe she has some good ideas.'_ Sakura looked away from Tenten. Her woman's intuition told her that Tenten was trying to tell her, _'just don't do it again. Naruto has earned that much.'_

Sakura lowered her eyes. _'Yeah...'_

As this was going on, Naruto and Neji were none the wiser, simply enjoying sitting close with their girlfriends.

"Naruto...I'm sorry I flew off the handle like that..." Sakura said sadly.

"Hmmm? Eh, don't worry about it. That probably did look really shady." Naruto admitted.

"I was just...afraid, you know? Afraid of having a repeat of last time..."

"Last time?" Tenten asked before catching on. "Ooooohh...I get it..."

"Last time?" Naruto repeated.

"I uh...was dating a guy about a month after you left...let's just say I got burned badly with him..."

"You what?" Naruto growled, halfway jealous and the other half angry at any guy that would give Sakura a hard time.

"She got cheated on." Tenten said, a little hesitant.

"Who's the dead man?" Naruto asked.

"You wouldn't know him. He's a steel worker that manufactures the armor for our tanks." Sakura informed.

"The Hell is he doing not fighting on the line? Is he a coward?" Kiba asked.

"I don't know..." Sakura sighed.

"Still though. What was his name?" Naruto pressed.

"Torgora Miachi...he seemed like a sweet guy at first...but I slowly started to notice that he was distancing himself from me...then I caught him screwing one of the nurses I work with."

"That son of a bitch. If I was back home at the time I would clean his clock." Naruto growled as he pounded his fist.

"And I would help you." Lee added.

"Don't forget me. Nobody two times a friend of mine and lives to tell about it." Kiba said.

Sakura smiled. "Thank you..."

"Where is this guy now anyway?" Neji asked. He might not have been able to dish out a beating thanks to his stitches, but he would sure as Hell give that punk a piece of his mind.

"I don't know. I haven't seen him lately. I think he's still at the steel mill."

"And he'd better stay there if he knows what's good for him." Tenten growled.

The gang sat in murmured agreement while Lee pulled up to the side of the road. "We're here."

"Huh? Where?" Sakura asked.

"Fu's place." Lee said as he pointed to their left at a rundown old apartment complex. Cracked walls, faded paint, and trash on the sidewalk.

"Oh my god...she lives here?" Sakura asked in horror.

"I told you she was a refugee. Not exactly the easiest lives they have." Naruto said.

"Poor thing..." Tenten said sadly.

"Yeah, come on, Sakura-chan. I want you to meet her." Naruto said.

"Alright." Sakura nodded.

Naruto stepped out of the car and offered Sakura his hand. She accepted and the two headed inside the rundown apartment feeling extremely overdressed. He led her inside where a ragged man could be seen sitting in the middle of the hallway, paying them no mind. Sakura took Naruto's hand as he led her up the stairs to Fu's address.

"I...I didn't know she lived in this crummy place...I feel worse knowing this..." Sakura said sadly.

"Neither did I. I knew she was scraping by. But I never thought it would be this bad. It's terrible." Naruto cursed.

 _'I feel so bad for yelling at her the way I did...'_ Sakura thought shamefully.

They both finally came across a door with the numbers 359 on them which Naruto gave a good few knocks.

"Coming!" They heard from inside.

The door immediately swung open and out stepped a beautiful green haired girl with mocha skin and a modest hand me down dress from the 20s. Still cute, with its matching round hat, but it had been clearly picked up from the second hand store.

"Oh...did-did I underdress?" Fu asked nervously as she looked upon the two of them.

"No-no." Sakura quickly cried. "If anything, I overdressed. Hi, I'm Sakura."

"Ah, so you're the one who Naruto is so crazy about." Fu smiled.

"Yes, and you must be his friend he met the other day. I need to apologize. I overreacted." Sakura bowed, feeling completely ashamed of herself.

"Eh...don't worry about it." Fu waved off.

"I will worry about it...I acted like such a-

"Hey, Sakura-chan? Maybe we don't do this here." Naruto suggested.

"Oh...yea, we'll talk in the car." Sakura nodded.

"Or we don't talk about it at all. Water under the bridge." Fu said as she slipped past the couple.

"Are...you sure?" Sakura asked.

"Positive. You two are in love, it's new love, so of course you'd stake your territory. It's fine, I've seen it before, now let's go have some fucking fun!" Fu cheered.

Sakura just blinked at this girls bluntness. Oddly enough, she had a point.

"I can see why you befriended her so quick." Sakura whispered to Naruto. In a lot of ways, Fu reminded Sakura of Naruto.

"What makes you say that?" Naruto asked.

Sakura sweat dropped. _'Why did I have to fall in love with an idiot...'_

"Never mind. Let's go already. I want to see if you've still got that second left foot I've heard so much about." Sakura teased.

"Hey! Who says I have two left feet?" Naruto grumbled.

"Me. So prove me wrong." Sakura challenged.

"Oh ho... Is that a challenge?" Naruto smirked as he led Sakura back to the car.

"Probably not. Knowing you, you'll let me lead." Sakura smirked as she opened up the car door.

"Oh, we'll see about that." Naruto smirked as he and Sakura squeezed in.

"You two lovebirds ready to go?" Fu asked from the front passenger seat. Naruto and Sakura were surprised to see her sitting on Kiba's lap of all places.

"Um, Fu? You know that you can sit in between Lee and Kiba right? It is a bench seat." Sakura pointed out.

"Yea, but I like his lap. And we can talk about whatever pops up." Fu said as she made herself comfortable on Kiba's lap.

"Damn...Where did you meet this hottie, Naruto?" Kiba smirked. He was really liking this chick.

"Saved her from a speeding car. Was having an episode, wandered out of the park, and then I noticed a girl with mint hair." Naruto explained.

"I like her..." Kiba smirked.

"Likewise, Army man." Fu winked.

 _'Oh gag me.'_ Lee thought, now feeling like the 7th wheel.

"So... What do you want later?" Kiba asked Fu.

"Oh...I dunno..." Fu said innocently as she rubbed his thigh with her hand. "Do you have any...Ideas...?"

Kiba shifted around in his seat, enjoying her touch in all its forms. "Many."

"Just make sure you don't have to pay her later." Neji warned.

"Pay? Oh no. I'm no prostitute. I'm just a lonely girl looking for some fun." Fu said.

"If it's fun you're looking for..." Kiba growled as he wrapped his strong arms around Fu's waist and held her close to his chest. She could feel his hound like breath trailing down her neck. "You've come to the right place."

"Good..." Fu sighed contently.

"You know, that whole lap sitting thing looked fun." Tenten teased.

"Not with Neji, please. The last thing we need is his surgical site to reopen." Sakura warned.

"Yeah, I know..." Tenten sighed sadly as she rested her head against Neji's shoulder.

"I know it sucks, but-EEEP!" Sakura squealed surprise as she was lifted up and placed on Naruto's lap.

"Baka! Let me know before doing that." Sakura scolded playfully.

"And miss out on your cute squeals? Never." Naruto laughed.

Sakura playfully slapped his arm. "Ass." She giggled.

Naruto just held her tighter like a long-lost puppy. The three couples plus Lee all reveled in each other's company as they drove up to The Nine Tails Dance Hall.

* * *

From block to block, people lined up at 7:30 just to get in to the swankiest joint in the entire Leaf Village. The sun had since gone down and neon lights ruled the night life. The streets lit up with every color imaginable. Lee pulled up to a corner driveway with the exterior designed like a palace. The couples all stepped out of their cars, the boyfriends leading the way to offer their hands as Lee handed the valet the keys. Naruto needed only to drop his father's name for the seven of them to be led to the front for the hostess to seat them immediately.

"Damn, Naruto. I thought you didn't have much influence here." Fu said.

"I have influence. I just don't like to use it." Naruto admitted as the hostess found them a table for 12.

"Oh. I never took you for the modest type." Fu admitted.

"Really? What made me look...whatever the opposite of modest is?" Naruto asked.

"Well, most guys aren't so I just assumed, you know?"

"Wow, I'm hurt." Naruto fake pouted as he held his hand over his heart.

"Oh spare me, drama queen..." Sakura teased.

"Hey, who are you calling drama queen?" Naruto teased back.

"You." Sakura smirked.

"You keep it up and I might pay you back for it later." Naruto growled into Sakura's ear.

"You better..." Sakura purred.

"Geez you two. Leave that stuff to the couples with history." Tenten teased as Neji and her sat down opposite one another.

"No way, Tenten. Naruto leaves tomorrow...I wanna get the most out of this night as possible." Sakura insisted.

"In that case...Waiter!" Tenten called out.

"Yes, miss?" A nearby waiter asked.

"A bottle of your best wine. Top shelf stuff. For the Hokage's son, his date, and their ten friends." Tenten ordered, gesturing to the blond haired first son of the Leaf.

"Right away, miss." The waiter said before scurrying off.

Tenten leaned back in her chair, feeling satisfied. Only to look over and see Naruto giving her a questioning look.

"What? Just because you don't like to flaunt your name around doesn't mean that I don't." Tenten shrugged.

"Yea, Naruto-kun. Lighten up a bit." Sakura agreed.

"God I'm kidding. Just don't make a habit out of it. That goes double for you, Kiba." Naruto laughed.

"I have no idea what you're talking." Kiba said innocently.

"Sure you don't." Naruto smiled as he shook his head. "You be careful with that one, Fu."

"Eh...He's fine." Fu waved off.

"You won't be saying that later tonight." Kiba smirked into her neck.

"Oh we'll see about that." Fu smirked.

"You'll be screaming something else."

"Yea, so I've been told before. But the last guy I was with was screaming instead of me."

"He was a pussy." Kiba stated.

"He was an Army Lieutenant." Fu smirked.

"He's still a pussy. You need a real man." Kiba nipped at her flesh.

Fu let out a low moan in pleasure. "S-stop...Not here..." She breathed out.

"Oh? You don't like when I bite you there?" Kiba smirked.

"I do but...Not in a place like this...Not in public..."

Kiba smirked as he darted his tongue out to give the spot a quick lick. "I'll remember it tonight."

* * *

As all the couples were talking, Lee distracted himself by taking in the view of the club. The joint was packed with soldiers and their girls all out for one last night on the town. And for Valentine's Day. Red and pink drapes were hung from every conceivable spot. A golden chandler hung above the polished wooden dance floor where couples were cutting the rug to the swing band playing on stage. Waiters went from table to table around the dance floor and up the stairs to the second floor where more tables and the bar could be found.

All around him there was laughter and the smells of cigarette smoke and entrees as they came pouring out of the kitchen. Lee could see seared steaks, lemon sprinkled salmon, vegetable soup, and a dozen other delectable dishes all traveling past him.

On the dance floor, skirts flew light as air as girls danced with their dates. Men tapped their army boots to the beat of the trumpets. Off in the corner, some buddies had gathered to toast with beer and liquor. Fine cigars hanging out of their mouths. All while another group of girls stood nearby to gossip and flirt.

Lee sighed, wishing that his own date was here to keep him company. Which made it absolutely perfect timing when he felt a light tap on his shoulder.

Lee looked over his shoulder to see none other than the girl he was waiting for, making his face beam with joy. There was the girl he had gotten with a week ago. Wearing a sparkling golden dress that matched her shining hazel eyes and her long, flowing, chocolate brown hair.

"Candi!" Lee exclaimed happily.

"Wait a minute...Tamaki?!" Sakura exclaimed in shock.

All eyes turned to Sakura. "You know her?" Naruto asked.

"Of course, I know her. She's Tamaki Uchiha, my third cousin." Sakura informed.

"Your cousin is a prostitute?" Kiba exclaimed.

"I had no idea she was." Sakura said before looking at her cousin.

"Call-girl. And I only do it for the boys in uniform. I call it a more pro-active Dear John letter." Tamaki stated as she traced a little circle on Lee's uniform.

"When did you start doing that? I doubt my father would approve." Sakura frowned.

"What your father would approve of would fill a large note card. As for me, I couldn't care less for what he thinks." Tamaki says.

"Not surprised...you never did."

"I don't see why you don't get in on it. I think you'd enjoy it after a while."

"Why I don't take up prostitution?" Sakura asked with a tick mark on her forehead.

Tamaki just sweat dropped. "Well you make it sound shameful when you put it that way. Anyway, you are going to love who gave me a ride here." Tamaki smiled.

"Yea I bet. And unlike you, I don't spread my vag open for every Tom, Dick and Harry that walks through the door."

"Well that's reassuring." Temari said as she walked up behind Sakura, arm in arm with her lover Shikamaru.

"Tell me about it." Ino said as she came up behind them with her arms wrapped around Choji's big, strong arm.

"Hey. Glad you guys could make it." Naruto greeted.

"I'll say. Sakura, where did you find this handsome gentleman?" Temari asked. "Naruto will be jealous."

"That is Naruto." Shikamaru stated.

"I know. I was teasing her. Try to keep up." Temari stated.

"Yea, he does clean up nice, doesn't he?" Sakura chuckled.

"He does. And are those scars permanent?" Temari asked, tracing her finger along her cheek.

"That's what the station doctor told me." Naruto said with a weary sigh.

"Well I like them." Sakura stated. "They make you look brave."

"Oh come on Sakura-chan. You don't really mean that."

"I do." Sakura insisted as she leaned in close. "When I first saw those scars, I was intimidated. They looked nasty and frightening. I knew whoever had those scars had been through something truly horrific and yet that man stood so tall before me. Like a true hero from those legends of our village." Sakura reached out her hand to stroke Naruto on his whisker scars. The man actually purred against her touch. "Imagine my surprise when I recognized that it was you who wore those scars. You looked so heroic to me. So brave."

"Not to mention, with those scars, he looks almost exactly like Lord 7th." Tamaki pointed out.

"Yeah, as if I've never had that comparison made in my life." Naruto grumbled.

"Oh hush. You look even more handsome than some old Lord." Sakura stated.

"If you say so." Naruto shrugged off.

"I do." Sakura pressed, growing angry that Naruto might think of her words as just words.

"Sorry...I just get annoyed when people try to compare me to my ancestor. I'm nothing like him nor do I wanna be."

"I understand." Sakura said softly. "But I meant what I said. I love the scars."

Naruto just smiled before pecking her on the lips. "Thanks, Sakura-chan."

"No problem, babe." Sakura smiled with the kiss. Just in time for the waiter to return with Tenten's bottle of wine.

Naruto cocked an eyebrow. "Babe?" He smirked.

"You heard me." Sakura smiled as the waiter filled her glass with the dark red nectar.

"Well alright then, babe." Naruto smirked.

One by one each of them had their glasses filled to the brim and the waiter left them with orders for 12 of the finest steaks the kitchen could make.

"A toast." Ino raised her glass with her silk glove.

Everyone else raised their glasses to join in.

"To our brave boys. May the Sage protect them so that they may come home." Ino stated.

"To them!" The girls cheered before everyone drank to the toast.

"And to the girls and our family. Who welcomed us back and made it all worth it." Shikamaru raised up his half-emptied glass.

"Cheers!" The guys all said before they all finished their glasses.

Ino slammed her glass down on the table as the band played a new tune. "Oh, I love this song. Let's dance!"

Almost at once, everyone started getting up to hit the dance floor. Naruto personally, was a little worried because he couldn't dance for shit.

Sakura just stood up and held out her hand. "Hey, about that challenge?" She smirked.

Naruto secretly gulped so she couldn't notice. "Yea, sure." He said with fake confidence.

Sakura led him onto the dance floor. The more experienced couples surrounded them, dancing and twirling to the beat. All of them seeming like experts, making the blond hero feel even more inadequate.

"Naruto...don't be so nervous." Sakura said calmly

"I'm not nervous." He lied.

"Then why are your hands shaking?" Sakura sweat dropped.

"Okay I'm nervous." Naruto sighed. Funny how he felt more tense being expected to lead a girl on the dance floor than he did leading men into battle.

"Look...just relax and move to the sound of the music. Let your body do the work."

"I...don't know if I can." Naruto admitted nervously.

Sakura sighed. "You wanna know something?"

"Sure?"

Sakura held up a palm to his face and let it glow green slightly. "I'm learning where it comes from and how to control it...it scares the fuck out of me, but I'm progressing well. If I can do something as difficult as this then you can learn how to dance. It's a lot simpler than trying to control Chakra, believe me."

"You...you're learning to control Chakra...? How? When?" Naruto asked in awe.

"Never mind that now." Sakura waved off as she put her hand down.

"But...it's so amazing...no one has learned to control Chakra in centuries!"

"I said don't worry about it. I'll tell you more later. Now it sounds like a slow dance is coming up. Put your hand on my waist." Sakura ordered.

"Yes, ma'am." Naruto obeyed, placing his rough palm against her silk dress.

"Now, take your other hand into mine." Sakura instructed further.

Naruto did just that. The both of them could feel each other's rough hands. His from battle and training, hers from long hours of surgery and doctoring.

"Alright everyone! This next song is for couples only." The lead singer of the band said over the microphone. Almost none of the dancers left the floor. This was Valentine's Day after all.

"Now...focus on me and listen to the music...let your body do the work. Let it move to the rhythm." Sakura instructed.

Naruto looked down and saw Sakura's hips swaying to the piano keys. Her hips were like hypnotic snakes bringing the love-struck boy under her control more and more the longer he looked. Soon he too felt compelled to follow her in the rhythm and swayed back and forth. Never taking his hands away from hers. Soon the band's lead singer took up the tune. Singing a melancholy melody in a foreign tongue, yet Naruto could tell it was a prayer of sorts for her love to come home. Come home and be happy together forever. A fairy tale ending, after the world finishes burning.

Naruto looked up into Sakura's emerald green eyes and she had him. Without him realizing it, he had her too.

"Naruto..." Sakura said softly.

"Sakura-chan..." Naruto repeated. Out of the corner of his eye he spotted something. A man with spiky black hair. It almost made Naruto wanted to dart his eyes away and cry out, yet he couldn't look away from Sakura. Eventually, the figure turned his head and Naruto saw him with a jaw as round as a thumb and he pushed it out of his mind for good.

"No matter what happens...I want you to know that...I love you..." Sakura said softly.

Naruto smiled. "And I love you...more than anything in this whole world."

"I know...so I want you to come back to me...you hear me?"

"What did I tell you before? The Axis doesn't have enough men to keep me from coming back to you. I'd kill them all to see you again." Naruto said as he rested his forehead against hers.

"And you know how I worry...but I believe you." Sakura smiled.

"Thanks Sakura-chan. It means everything hearing that from you." Naruto smiled back.

"Don't thank me just yet...there is still one more thing I wanna give you before you ship out tomorrow."

"I don't think we ship out. More like march..." Naruto said, more to himself than anything. "We're nowhere near the ocean."

"You know what I mean." Sakura chuckled.

"Right, of course. So, what do you want to give me?"

"It's a surprise..." Sakura whispered into his ear.

"Is this surprise going to involve a motel room?" Naruto whispered back.

"No, it's not..." Sakura whispered.

"Ah..." Naruto pouted.

"It's going to involve my room." She said coyly.

"I don't think so, Sakura-chan." Naruto said seriously.

"And why not?"

"Cause I don't want Itachi hearing you scream all night long." Naruto smirked.

"And what if I told you that Itachi wouldn't be home tonight? That he was off on business." Sakura smirked.

"I'd say what are we waiting for?" Naruto leered.

"Patience, babe. I still wanna dance some more and we haven't had dinner yet." Sakura said.

"Fine. But the second we get to your place, I'm ripping that dress off with my teeth." Naruto growled.

"Not if I rip your pants off with my teeth first." Sakura purred.

"Ooohh you tease..."

"Yup." Sakura chirped. "Just keep that trouser snake caged up until we get back to my place."

"You keep swaying like that and I'm gonna have to drag you into a bathroom stall." Naruto said without thinking.

"Kinky...But not tonight." Sakura winked.

Naruto whistled. "Where did that Sakura go that used to beat me for looking at dirty magazines?"

"Oh, she's still here. She just had a change of heart is all."

"So long as she keeps her passion, I'll never let her go." Naruto smiled.

"Whatever you want, you'll have." Sakura smiled, her emerald eyes sparkling in the lights of the dance floor.

"I want you." Naruto said as his shined under the overhead lights.

"And you can have me...I may not have always been the nicest person to you, but that is going to change, starting now..."

"Just keep being you. The girl I fell in love with the moment I saw her sitting on that playground swing."

"And you don't change...no matter what happens on that battlefield l, I don't want to see you come home all depressed like you did...it breaks my heart to see you like that..." Sakura admitted.

"So long as I can come back to you and your smile."

"You will...always..." Sakura breathed on his lips.

That did it. Naruto slammed his lips against Sakura's, who eagerly let him in. Amidst the crowd surrounding them, they were alone. Just the two of them in utter bliss.

* * *

Hours later, they made their way back to the Uchiha compound to be alone again.

"Are...you sure you're ready for this, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked as Sakura unlocked the door.

"I am... even though ideally I would want to wait for another few months...but I wanna give you a lasting remembrance before you leave...and its...my first time so..." Sakura said as they made their way inside.

"It's...mine too..." Naruto admitted.

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "Really? I would think that you would have taken care of that by now."

"I almost did. But I didn't go through with it." Naruto admitted.

"Why? I thought that's what every guy wants to do."

"Hey, it's not all that's on our minds. We think of other things besides sex. Sufficient to say I was waiting for someone special." Naruto defended.

Sakura blushed. "You mean me...of course."

"Yes." Naruto whispered as he shut the front door behind them.

"Then take me...I'm all yours..." Sakura whispered.

Naruto needed no other invitation and scooped Sakura up bridal style. Sakura shrieked with laughter as Naruto ram through her house and up the stairs. She grabbed his face and pulled him into a kiss while he opened her bedroom door with his hand previously carrying Sakura by her legs.

 _'Yes! Finally!'_ Sakura heard a voice in her head. One she hadn't heard since she was a kid.

Sakura ignored it as Naruto carefully laid her down like she was made of porcelain onto her bed. For some reason, she became very aware of the texture on her sheets.

 _'Did...he take my dress off already?'_ Sakura asked herself. No, she realized that it was just her open back and her fingers tracing along the fabric. Her dress still clung to her, but not for long.

Sakura decided to make the first move by sliding the straps of her dress off her shoulders.

Naruto smirked as he decided to match Sakura and rolled his own jacket off of his shoulders.

"I'm...I'm sorry if you don't like what you're about to see..." She said nervously as she slid the top part down further and exposing her chest completely to him. Her face as red as a ripe tomato, her stomach full of butterflies. She hoped that he wouldn't think less of her from her rather small chest.

Naruto's eyes went wide. Her breasts were two quarter sized areola atop two perfect scoops of cream colored flesh, untouched by the sun and seen by no other man but Naruto. They looked perfect.

Sakura nervously bit her lower lip. "I'm sorry that...they're not larger..."

"Don't apologize." Naruto huskily stated as he approached her as a predator would to his prey. "They are beautiful." His hand wrapped around her backside, coming dangerously close to her ass. "And perfect." Naruto's other hand trailed up her belly to cup Sakura's left breast and push it up. Her nipple looked so enticing Naruto couldn't stop himself. His mouth was watering while Sakura's lower lips began to moisten. "And tasty." Naruto attacked Sakura's breast, clamping his lips over her teat and suckling away like a starved baby. His tongue flicked at Sakura's nipple, making her squirm.

"Oh wow...mmmm..." Sakura moaned. It was like music to Naruto's ears.

Naruto slobbered all over her breast, his saliva dripping down her chest and Sakura couldn't help but pull his mouth in closer.

Naruto allowed this, but not before he slowly had a free hand travel up her dress.

 _'Oh god...he's doing what I think he's doing, isn't he?'_ Sakura thought frantically and happily.

Just then, her mind went blank when she felt a finger poke her womanhood and felt it slide up and down her folds.

"Oooooooooo..." Sakura moaned in a voice she didn't even knew she had. Her back arched as her whole body squirmed. She could feel the temperature in the room rise 30 degrees. Either that or it was her.

 _'She likes that.'_ Naruto thought gleefully as he continued to replicate what he read in the classic Make-Out novel series.

Despite her panties still being on, Naruto was still able to make her squirm from his touch. He could feel her underwear getting more damp the more he rubbed her womanhood.

"Ah! Ah! Ah!" Sakura cried out as she began humping Naruto's hand.

"Wow, Sakura-chan. I never knew you could sound like that." Naruto smirked.

"Shut up and never stop!" Sakura cried as her nails raked into Naruto's back though his shirt as she suddenly reached her first climax of the night.

"AAAAAAAH!" Sakura screamed out, her body shuddering and squirming as she rode out her first ever orgasm.

Naruto just stood over Sakura in shock as she grew limp as a wet noodle.

"Holy crap, I made her faint." Naruto exclaimed.

"Mmm...no... I'm fine..." Sakura moaned, feeling better than she had ever felt.

"I was going to say. We just started and you're already down for the count." Naruto chuckled.

"Just give me a sec to...catch my breath...wow..." Sakura gasped.

"Damn, was it that good?"

"It was my first ever orgasm..." Sakura admitted.

"Really? You've never...taken care of that yourself?" Naruto asked, astonished.

"No, never."

"Well then color me honored." Naruto smirked.

"Not yet you're not." Sakura smirked as she slid the rest of her dress off. Now all she had on was her panties and her mother's necklace.

"Oh sweet sage." Naruto said as he took in the view.

"I saved the last for you..." Sakura said in a sultry tone as she wiggled her hips around a little.

"Oh you did, did you?" Naruto asked, drinking in the sight of her curves.

Sakura nodded, pointing to her wet underwear.

Naruto smirked before his hands for to work tearing his belt off his pants, then went his button and fly, until he was standing in front of Sakura his boxers bulging out at her as if to say hello.

Sakura sat up and gasped. Even through his boxers she could tell that he was by no means small.

"Jesus...you plan to stick me with that?!" Sakura exclaimed in shock.

"I do." Naruto stated as he took a step closer to get his crotch right up in Sakura's face until she could almost taste his musky scent. "What are you gonna do about it?"

Sakura smirked and took a hold of the elastic band around his boxers. She gave it a good yank and she was almost smacked in the face by his boner.

"Sweet Sage. It looks like it hurts." Sakura said.

"Not really." Naruto shrugged off.

"Still, you need relief." Sakura said as she inspected his penis, taking in every vein and analyzing its girth.

"Oh yea...you need relief." Sakura smirked as she grasped it with her small, delicate hands.

Naruto hissed at her touch. Her hands felt so cool against his flesh he thought his dick would melt.

"Oh? Does that feel good?" Sakura giggled before she started stroking it.

"It feels fucking amazing." Naruto bit his lip, trying to hold back a moan.

 _'Oh yea, he's getting into it now.'_ Sakura giggled in thought.

 _'Suck on it.'_ The voice in her head said.

 _'Inner? What the, I thought you were gone!'_

 _'Guess again, bitch!'_ Inner smirked. _'Now, suck on his rod.'_

 _'I am stroking him. Isn't that enough?'_

 _'Girl, you got a lot to learn...'_ Inner shook her head. _'Nothing drives a man crazy than having a warm wet tongue lick his dick like a lollipop.'_

 _'And how would you know?'_ Sakura asked.

' _I'm your subconscious. This is you remembering something you read long ago. Probably from reading one of Ino or Itachi's dirty magazines. Now focus on the D!'_

Sakura sighed, there was no use arguing with her inner self once she got worked up. She thought that half a decade of therapy would have cured her but things could never be easy. With that in mind, she knelt down to face her task. Six inches of hot, pulsing, man meat with a mushroom head. Sakura gulped.

 _'Don't be a pussy!'_ Inner shouted.

 _'I'm a girl!'_

 _'You're point? You're still a coward.'_

 _'And you're an annoying voice in my head!'_

 _'Quit focusing on your head and focus on his head!'_

 _'Ugh...fine.'_ Sakura groaned. Sakura closed her eyes and dived right in. She didn't know what else to do so she opened her mouth and stuck his dick in her mouth.

"Gah! Oh God!" Naruto exclaimed, never having felt something like this before.

 _'He likes that?'_ Sakura thought as her tongue lightly touched the underside of his shaft.

 _'I told you!'_ Inner shouted.

Naruto arched his back slightly when Sakura pressed her tongue against him like he had just been sucker punched.

 _'Damn, he really does like that, huh?'_ Sakura thought.

 _'Of course he does. Now remember. Lollipop.'_ Inner thought.

 _'Mmm...no. Popsicle is better.'_ Sakura smirked.

 _'Now you're getting it.'_ Inner smirked.

Her confidence growing, Sakura sucked harder and harder, her tongue becoming more daring. She began using her mouth and her hands together, all the while listening to Naruto's pants and moans. Like a sluty little safecracker.

"S-Sakura-chan..." Naruto moaned, his limit nearing.

 _'Cup his balls.'_ Inner instructed.

 _'Huh? why?'_ Sakura asked.

 _'To send him over the edge. You want that dick in you, don't you?'_

 _'Well, yea...'_

 _'Do it! Make him nut!'_

 _'Make him...What?'_

 _'Ejaculate!'_ Inner thought just as Naruto went over the edge thanks to Sakura's repetition alone.

"GAAAAH!" Naruto hollered out, exploding his load in Sakura's mouth.

 _'Oh my God, that's salty!'_ Sakura thought as Naruto held her head in place as he rode out his high.

Soon Naruto's strength left him and he slumped against Sakura.

 _'Oh my god...His sperm is in my mouth. What do I do?'_

 _'Spit or swallow. Naruto isn't the kind of guy to be offended by the former, but the latter is more polite.'_

 _'Well...I uh...I guess so.'_ Sakura said with uncertainty. She shrugged and with an audible full, she swallowed his seed.

Naruto breathed deep to regain his senses. "Holy shit."

Sakura licked the remaining cum off her lips before speaking. "Feel better?" She giggled.

"I feel great, yet somehow unsatisfied..." Naruto said. They both looked down to see his flag still at full mast.

"I think I can fix that. Lay down." Sakura ordered.

"You're taking control?" Naruto smirked.

"Just do it..." Sakura sighed. In reality, she was bracing herself for what she knew would be a very painful experience.

 _'It doesn't have to be painful.'_ Inner thought. _'Just relax. Take it slow. You broke your hymen years ago anyway.'_

 _'I never broke it.'_ Sakura countered, a little nervous.

 _'What? You know what? Fine, it doesn't matter. Just relax and enjoy it.'_

 _'I'll try.'_

 _'No, don't try. Get him to stroke you. Kiss you. Get yourself drenched down there.'_

 _'Well, I think I already am, but-'_ Sakura stopped mid thought when she felt Naruto tugging on her panties.

"Oh man...how I've waited to see this." Naruto said in anticipation.

Sakura smiled lovingly. "It's all yours, babe."

Like a boy unwrapping his present, Naruto slid down the soaked lacy fabric and beheld his prize.

There...Right before him, was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen; Sakura's most private area. Two fleshy and wet folds, covered in a forest of pink hair, oozing juices. And behind those folds was the promise land of blissful pleasure.

"Beautiful..." Naruto whispered.

While Naruto was in his stupor, Sakura took this as her opportunity to shift her position to have Naruto laying on the bed and her on top.

"Just relax, Naruto-kun. You've been through so much. Let me service you..." Sakura whispered as she positioned herself to straddle his legs.

"No complaints here. Loving the view." Naruto smirked.

"Same." Sakura said as her fingers walked up his torso.

Sakura positioned his member to her narrow opening, which was flowing with her own juices. She hesitated for a moment before proceeding. _'Am...I really ready for this?'_ She asked herself. Giving up her virginity was not an easy task mentally.

 _'Well, you said it yourself. He goes back tomorrow morning and he deserves this the most.'_ Inner reminded her.

 _'I know...it's just...this isn't an easy thing to do.'_

 _'You're right. It's a hard thing to do.'_ Inner raised her eyebrows. _'Eh? Eh?'_

 _'Very funny...you know what I mean.'_

 _'I do, but here is the rub. You back out now and Naruto will forgive you. He may not like it, but he will suck it up and say it's okay for your sake. The only one who will ever regret not doing it now will be you.'_

Sakura thought about that and as usual, her inner self was right.

 _'Just ease into it. Trust him.'_

Sakura slowly eased her body down, feeling the tip of his shlong against her as it demanded entry.

Naruto grabbed her hips to help support her. Her smooth, sexy thighs feeling magnificent against his big strong hands.

"Sakura-chan..."

"This may hurt a little..." Sakura mumbled as she continued to press downward. Already, it was starting to hurt as her hymen was being stretched to its limits.

"Just take it slow...ugh..." Naruto groaned. "I want us both...to enjoy this..."

"I know...oh god..."

"I've got you..." Naruto whispered as he supported Sakura by her hips.

Slowly but surely, Sakura got the tip through. It was painful, but it wasn't bad. It helped that she had plenty of lubrication coming out of her and the rest was fairly easy. As soon as she felt her waist meet his, she knew she was all the way down and feeling quite full.

"Oh-hohoho..." Sakura gasped as she felt him pulsing inside her.

"Ah, fuck!" Naruto cried as his sense of pleasure shot up his spine like lightning.

"Oh...wow..." Sakura gasped out, having never felt this way before.

"Shit this feels good." Naruto moaned.

"Yea it does...you're so...big..." Sakura breathed out.

"And you're so tight. Fuck, it fits like a glove." Naruto sighed.

"Yea...it's almost like..." She paused to lean into his ear, feeling his member slid out a little creating a wave of pleasure neither of them had ever felt. "Oh god...like we were...made for each other..."

"Made for each other..." Naruto smirked. "I like the sound of that."

"Me too..." Sakura smiled.

The two of them just stayed in place, breathing in and out, reveling in the sensation of being one. The two of them had never felt so relaxed and so excited at the same time.

"Ready to take this up a notch?" Sakura smirked.

"Damn straight."

"Then hold onto your butt." Sakura giggled before she started thrusting up and down.

"I'll hold onto your ass." Naruto smirked as he grabbed her love buns.

Sakura giggled as she continued to bounce off of Naruto's pelvis while he thrust upward into her. The two were in sync, both drunk on lust, their higher brains turned to mush and replaced with animal desires. "Oh wooow...this is amazing..." Sakura moaned like a bitch in heat.

"To think...Shikamaru...and Temari...have been doing this for y-YEARS!" Naruto grunted as he tried not to blow his load too quick.

"Y-yea...ugh...and now I... Oh god...I know how...Tenten feels..." Sakura moaned.

"Fuck, I bet she doesn't have an asset this nice. How do you do it, Sakura-chan?"

"Looong hours in the ER, babe." Sakura smirked.

"Thank God for the ER." Naruto smiled as he squeezed her cheeks.

"And jogging..." Sakura gasped.

"And jogging." Naruto smirked as he changed his angle slightly and sent Sakura's back arching.

"Ooooohh yeeeess...fuck me..." Sakura moaned loudly.

"S-Sakura-chan...I can't...hold it..." Naruto grunted. He had reached his limit.

"I'm gonna orgasm too...let's do it together..." Sakura breathed out.

"Fuck!" Naruto bit his lip as he reached up and grabbed the shit out of Sakura's right tit.

"Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! AAAAAHHH! FUUUCK!" Sakura screamed as she came, Naruto doing the same, exploding inside her for all he was worth.

Sakura grabbed Naruto and pulled him in as close as physically possible as they both rode out their orgasms. Crashing against them wave after wave.

The two collapsed on top of one another, panting.

Naruto struggled to bring them both farther onto the queen-sized bed and pulled the covers over both of them. Naruto lay on his back while Sakura curled her arm across his chest and rested it on his shoulder. Her nose buried in the crook of his neck.

"That was...awesome..." Sakura breathed out.

"You're awesome." Naruto smiled before kissing Sakura on her forehead.

"I'm going to miss you...a lot more than you think..." Sakura said sadly.

"Not as much as I will miss you." Naruto replied as he held Sakura a little tighter.

"I love you...and when you come home for good, I don't want you to ever leave my sight..."

"Same." Naruto said, knowing exactly what she meant.

"If I have to, I'll move in with you and I'm serious."

"You serious? You want to move into my parent's house?" Naruto raised an eyebrow, equal parts excited and confused.

"If that's what it takes to keep you in line." Sakura smirked.

"Nah, screw that." Naruto laughed. "I'm not living under the same roof as you, my mother, and my sister. Maybe I'll just get my degree in political science, mooch a job out of my father's contacts, and buy us a house to live in of our own."

"Shit, we can do that now with my income." Sakura scoffed.

"Ah come on, what kind of man would I be if I let my girlfriend buy us a house?" Naruto chuckled half-heartedly.

"And what kind of girlfriend would I be if I let my war hero man do all the work? Oh no, I'll buy us the house. You'd shit your pants if you knew how much money I have saved up."

"Fine. But I'm buying the car, and every year we are bringing in a real Christmas tree. None of that fake plastic crap I see you Uchihas putting up every year." Naruto countered.

"That's fine by me. Plus, I already have a car, remember?"

"Yeah, but it's a truck. I'm getting us a town car with four doors and plenty of trunk space."

"A truck? No that's Ino's. I have a Studebaker, remember?"

"Sakura, I don't even know what a Studebaker is. Don't tell the guys." He whispered with a hush.

"Whatever, we'll need two cars anyway." Sakura said.

"Fine by me. I want a woody wagon anyway." Naruto grinned.

"No, those rot...I think a Ford F-1 would be better."

"And that is...?"

"A pickup." Sakura shrugged.

"Be good for getting groceries...sure, why not?" Naruto shrugged.

Sakura blew air out of her nose as Naruto massaged her back. The two relaxed in each other's presence, all the while really wishing one of them could get up and turn off the lights.

"You know what really scares me?" Naruto asked.

"What's that?" Sakura asked.

"That I'll go back out there, get all geared up and ready to go, and then I'll just get taken out. Mortar, stray bullet outta nowhere, a landmine, something...all before I can do anything more..." Naruto admitted.

Sakura bopped him upside the head. "Don't you dare talk like that. I'm already worried about sometime like that, don't reinforce it."

Naruto just looked at her with that same serious face from when he came back. "I want to at least do something. Take out one other guy, clear one bunker, do something to help out the rest of my squad before it happens. I don't want to be like Sasuke. Who never even got to fire a shot."

"Naruto...you won't die out there. You're too stubborn to. So please stop talking like that..."

"Sakura...I don't want to die. But I don't want to die without doing anything more." Naruto stated.

Sakura sighed. Try as she might, she knew she couldn't stop him. Wishful thinking wouldn't save him. Only God could save him. "Just promise me you won't be doing anything intentionally suicidal." Sakura said, defeated. "Give me that peace of mind."

"I promise, Sakura-chan. I still have to come home to you, remember?" Naruto assured.

"Good." Sakura smiled as she slowly drifted off to sleep. Naruto adjusted his position to get more comfortable and followed suit. All across the Leaf village the same scene played out at one time or another for the rest of the couples. Kisses and promises were shared and the populous drifted off into one last peaceful snooze.

* * *

The next morning Naruto and Sakura woke early to a quiet breakfast. Naruto got to enjoy Sakura's own attempts at cooking and it was quickly recognized by all that Sakura could take a few lessons from her older brother.

With the teasing out of the way, Sakura drove Naruto to the barracks where he was reunited with his squad and given his new equipment. Some jokes and jabs were thrown at each man who took it in strides.

As soon as the boys were all set to go, they received their new marching orders and were sent towards the main gates for one last goodbye.

"You'll write every day?" Tamaki asked Lee at the main gate as she stuck to him like glue.

"Every day I'm able." Lee assured.

"You'd better. I won't send you pictures otherwise." Tamaki teased.

"So long as he agrees to share them, we'll make sure he remembers to write." Kiba teased.

"I'm not sharing them." Lee stated.

"You're no fun. I'm sharing mine." Kiba said.

"Oh no, you're not!" Fu scolded as she twisted his ear.

"OW! Damn it! I was kidding!" Kiba cried while the rest of the guys laughed.

"You better be! Or I won't send you any at all, mister!"

"And that goes double for you, Little Boy." Temari playfully lectured Shikamaru as she retied his tie, finding the act itself, erotic. "Although I'm sure you don't want the guys to see what I'll send to you." Temari tightened the tie right up to the man's neck, making him gulp. "Not for your sake."

"Gotcha." Shikamaru gave an uneasy smile in excitement.

"Same for you." Sakura told Naruto sternly.

"Hey, I'm treating any letters sent from you as sacred treasure." Naruto held his hands up in defense. "Like I'd let these Bozos mess with it." Naruto pointed his thumb at his remaining squad.

"You better."

"Alright men. We need to head out." Kakashi announced.

"Yes, sir!" They all responded as they gathered their bags.

"Naruto..." Sakura sniffed. "You come back to me...please..."

Naruto leaned forward, quick as a cobra, and planted a lingering kiss on Sakura's broad forehead. "I will." Naruto smiled before slipping something into Sakura's open palm. It was long and heavy, and when he finally broke away Sakura glanced down to see that it was his family's three-pronged kunai. The one said to be held by every great Hokage in history.

"Wha-no, Naruto. I can't have this!" Sakura hissed.

"Don't worry! I'll take it back when I come back for good!" Naruto called out as his column marched towards the main gate.

"You better come back...I'm not done with you yet..." Sakura cried as she held onto that kunai tightly.

"I ain't done with you either!" Naruto shouted. "I gotta marry you, don't I?! I'm gonna trade you that kunai for a ring!"

Sakura's eyes went wider than dinner plates and her heart felt like it was on fire. She couldn't believe she heard that and yet...she couldn't be happier to hear those words.

The guys all cheered, laughed, and shoved Naruto along to keep up the marching pace. Sakura watched them go as Ino held her close so that she wouldn't fall over. The crowds cheered, igniting a sense of invulnerability in the soldiers as they marched out to the unknown wilderness.

They were off, once again, to war.

* * *

 **Author's Note from Panda: AAAAAAND FINISHED!**

 **I don't know about you guys, but that last one dragged on. Maybe its because we decided to power through this entire story in one go. Even as short as it is, it can be draining. That being said I am glad that we got this published. I've always wanted to do a war story for Naruto, mostly just to have this romantic tension between Naruto and Sakura when Naruto comes back.**

 **Who knows, maybe one day when we have a lot less stories to update we'll revisit this world or create a new one entirely. One where the Konoha 11 goes to war for 7 straight years against every other ninja nation. Or maybe just stick to these back-home scenes with the flashbacks like we just did.**

 **In any case, I hope you enjoyed this story. Hopefully you'll leave a review telling us what we did good and what we could improve upon. Either way, I hope you have a great day, wherever you are.**


End file.
